SC employment: Rising from the depths
At the depth of the Great Recession, South Carolina’s unemployment rate had reached 11.6 percent with about a quarter of a million jobless workers.
Fast forward six years: The rate of unemployed people has been cut almost in half.
The bottom of the recession in the Palmetto State was June 2009, according to figures for the state Department of Employment and Workforce. Here’s a comparison of then and now.
JUNE 2009
250,691
people not working
1.9 million
people employed
2.1 million
labor force: people working or looking for work
11.6%
statewide jobless rate
APRIL 2015*
151,528
people not working
2.1 million
people employed
2.2 million
labor force: people working or looking for work
6.7%
statewide jobless rate
* Lastest figures available
SOURCE: S.C Department of Employment and Workforce