South Carolina unemployment edges up; Charleston metro mixed

Image by Flickr user Daniel Greene Lots of government workers in South Carolina prepared boxes like this in July.

Well for the first time in 2010 South Carolina's unemployment numbers have edged up, 0.1% points in July to 10.8%.

But on the upside we're still 1.2% points below where we were in July 2009. The state's labor force also fell for the fifth consecutive month, it was 6,862 this last time. The national unemployment rate is 9.5%.

The biggest job loss occurred in the government sector, accounting for 39,200 lost jobs and offsetting growth in other areas. 

But locally the results were more mixed with the unemployment rate holding at a steady 9.3% in the metro area. 

  • Charleston increased 0.1% points to 9.2% (5th lowest in the state)
  • Berkeley held steady at 10% (10th lowest)
  • Dorchester decreased 0.2% points to 8.8% (4th lowest)

You can learn loads more in this release of data from the state.

Update August 21: If you're looking for more peripheral reporting on these latest numbers, The Post and Courier has a nice piece; read it here.

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