SC jobless rate remains at 6.6 percent; dips further behind US rate

The state’s unemployment rate in February held steady at 6.6 percent compared to January, but slipped further behind the national average, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce reported Friday.

The number of jobless people in February was 148,416, up slightly by 1,476 workers from the month before, the agency’s figures show.

The national unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent in January, meaning the rate in the Palmetto State by remaining steady lost ground to the United States as a whole, according to the agency’s labor data.

But the number of South Carolinians working in February reached 2,090,232, an increase of 10,432 from January, the report states. In January, 2,080,031 people were working.

Employment and Workforce said those numbers represent a steady “march upward” and February’s figures hit a new high.

Seasonally adjusted, last month’s non-farm payroll rose by 10,400 to a total of 1,988,100. That’s a record for the second time this year, the agency said.

Most of that increase was in the leisure and hospitality industries, with gains of 4,000 jobs. Construction came in second, with 2,500 new hires, followed by professional and business services with 1,700 jobs, government with 1,400 and manufacturing with 1,100, according to Employment and Workforce figures.

Compared to February 2014, seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs were up 62,800 last month.

The overall workforce, which is people working as well as those actively looking for jobs in February, reached 2,227,032. That’s an increase of 11,616 people compared with January’s labor force of 2,227,032.

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 11:18 AM.