Jobless rate falls to 9.5% in December, lowest since 2008, but Charleston goes up

Image by Flickr user Thewmatt

The SC Department of Employment and Workforce released the South Carolina’s Employment Situation this morning which reveals that South Carolina's unemployment rate has fallen to 9.5% in December — a 0.4% point decrease from November.

Not only does this mark the fourth consecutive monthly rate drop and is down 1.6% from 2011’s high of 11.1% in August, but it is the lowest rate since December 2008 when unemployment stood at 9.2%.

The shrinking was a combination of fewer people in the workforce and more jobs being offered. The labor force declined 3,227 from November to December while the number of employed grew by 4,307, and the number of unemployed fell by 7,534.

However, the Charleston metro area unemployment rater increased slightly from 7.8% to 7.9%.

Charleston County heald steady at 7.4%, Dorchester moved from 7.7% to 7.9%, and Berkeley went from 8.8% to 9%. 

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