South Carolina jobless rate falls for 6th consecutive month

South Carolina’s jobless rate fell for the sixth consecutive month in October to 4.7 percent.

The Department of Employment and Workforce said Friday that South Carolina’s unemployment rate was down from 4.9 percent in September. That marked the first time the state rate has fallen below 5 percent since April 2001.

A year ago, the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent.

The agency says the number of South Carolinians working rose to a new high of nearly 2.2 million. The number of unemployed people looking for work declined to about 108,500.

“Today, along with celebrating jobs created in every county, we can celebrate that our 4.7 percent unemployment rate is down for a sixth straight month, hitting a 15-year record low,” Gov. Nikki Haley said. “With more South Carolinians working than ever before, and jobs announced in every corner of our state, we can proudly say that South Carolina is on the move.”

Locally, Lexington County’s unemployment rate was the second-lowest in South Carolina at 3.8 percent, a decrease from September’s 4.1 percent. Charleston County had the lowest at 3.7 percent.

Richland County’s unemployment rate in October was 4.5 percent, a decline from September’s 4.8 percent, and Kershaw’s was 4.9 percent, a decline from 5.1 percent.