SC jobless rate falls to 6.4 percent

South Carolina’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4 percent in July, the second consecutive month the rate has declined, the state Department of Employment and Workforce reported Friday morning.

The seasonally adjusted rate was .2 percentage points lower than June’s 6.6 percent.

In the Midlands, the rate fell in Richland, Lexington and Kershaw counties. Lexington’s 5.3 percent unemployment rate - a drop from June’s 5.6 rate - tied with Charleston for the state’s lowest. Richland’s rate was 6.4 percent, down from 6.6 percent in June, and Kershaw’s fell from 6.7 percent in June to 6.4 percent in July.

The Department of Employment and Workforce said the industries with the biggest job gains statewide were trade, transportation and utilities, with an increase of 2,000 jobs, and construction, which grew by 1,200 jobs.