Nearly one-in-ten of South Carolina's workers are looking for job thanks largely to an expanding labor (+14,300) force and increased layoffs (-22,000).
Read more stories on this subject in our unemployment topic page.December's 9.5% rate is a full point above November's rate of 8.4%, and the highest since January 1983.
On the upside, Charleston County had the second lowest unemployment rate in the state, 6.9%. Berkeley and Dorchester had the 36th and 39th lowest rates, respectively.
| County | Dec .08 | Nov .08 | |
| Allendale | 19.7 | 17.5 | |
| Marion | 19.0 | 16.9 | |
| Chester | 17.3 | 13.6 | |
| Marlboro | 16.9 | 14.9 | |
| Barnwell | 15.8 | 14.2 | |
| Bamberg | 15.5 | 14.2 | |
| Union | 14.7 | 12.7 | |
| Berkeley | 8.2 | 7.4 | |
| Jasper | 8.1 | 6.9 | |
| Pickens | 8.0 | 7.3 | |
| Dorchester | 7.9 | 6.9 | |
| Richland | 7.8 | 7.1 | |
| Aiken | 7.7 | 7.0 | |
| Greenville | 7.6 | 6.8 | |
| Saluda | 7.5 | 7.2 | |
| Beaufort | 7.0 | 6.2 | |
| Charleston | 6.9 | 6.3 | |
| Lexington | 6.5 | 5.9 |
Here's some more details from the S.C. Employment Security Commission's press release:
This is the largest December job loss on record. Leading the downturn was Professional and Business Services (-8,500), followed by Leisure and Hospitality (-6,300), Manufacturing (-2,100), and Construction (-1,400). Construction has posted losses for the last 14 consecutive months, while Manufacturing has posted nine consecutive months of job losses. The overall job count dropped to 54,100 below the previous year’s level.
If you want to know more, the press release has gobs upon gobs of facts. But, if you want another news outlet's take, I suggest The Charleston Regional Business Journal's.
