South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped in June to 5.4 percent from 5.6 percent in May, marking its lowest level since July 2001, according to state officials.
The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce said Greenville County’s jobless rate was the state’s third lowest, at 4.9 percent. But that was up from 4.1 percent in May.
Spartanburg County’s rate rose to 5.6 percent in June from 4.6 percent in May.
Charleston County had the state’s lowest rate in June, 4.6 percent. Bamberg County had the highest, 9.9 percent.
South Carolina’s employment level reached another historic high with 2,185,181, gaining slightly in June as 109 people found work.
The number of unemployed dropped in June by nearly 4,270 to 125,591, which pushed the labor force down by 4,161 to 2,310,772 people. Over the year, 67,545 job seekers found work, and the level of unemployed individuals decreased by an estimated 7,250. Since June 2015, the labor force has grown by nearly 60,295 people.
Nationally, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 4.9 percent in June as many people entered the labor force. The state’s unemployment rate has averaged 5.6 percent for the first six months of 2016.
“Great things are happening in our state,” Gov. Nikki Haley said in a statement. “Thanks to the hard work of our employers, employees and Team South Carolina, we are able to celebrate a 15-year record low unemployment rate – but we aren’t finished.”
The jobless announcement “is all the motivation we need to stay focused on things like workforce training, tax relief and investments in our students so we can keep the momentum going,” Haley said.
