SC unemployment rate stayed at 5.5 percent during December

South Carolina’s unemployment rate stayed right where it was last month to end 2015.

The state Department of Employment and Workforce said Tuesday that South Carolina’s jobless rate was 5.5 percent in December, the same as November. In the Midlands, Lexington County’s unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, unchanged from November and tied for the state’s second lowest. Richland County’s rate was 5.1 percent — unchanged from November — and Kershaw County’s was 5.4 percent, an increase of .1 percentage points from a month earlier.

While the state’s unemployment rate was unchanged, the number of people working went up by more than 10,000 in December. State officials say that increase means that South Carolina’s employment hit a historic high of more than 2,147,000.

The increase also pushed employment gains for the year to 78,452, a year-over-year record for the state. Since December 2014, the number of unemployed people has decreased by 23,040, and the labor force has grown by nearly 55,412 people.

The professional and business services and trade, transportation and utilities sectors added a combined 8,000 jobs.

Unemployment was highest in Marion County, at 9.3 percent. Charleston County was lowest, at 4.2 percent followed by Lexington and Greenville.

Nationally, the unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent in December.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 5:02 PM.