SC’s unemployment rate has historic drop in August

The largest one-month drop since 1983 lowered South Carolina’s unemployment rate to 6 percent in August, according to the state Department of Employment and Workforce.

The August rate was .4 percentage points below July’s 6.4 percent, the department said.

In the Midlands, Lexington County again tied Charleston County for the state’s lowest rate at 5.1 percent. Lexington and Charleston had a 5.3 percent rate in July. Richland County’s rate was 6 percent, down .3 percentage points from July’s.

The number of unemployed people statewide dropped by 7,910 to 135,285, according to the department. It’s the largest one-month drop in the number of unemployed since the number was first tracked in 1976.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 9:49 AM with the headline "SC’s unemployment rate has historic drop in August."