After three months of declining values, the South Carolina Leading Index (SCLI) rebounded in August, gaining 0.29 points, according to a report released last week by the S.C. Department of Commerce.
The SCLI value measures economic conditions across the state. An SCLI value above 100 indicates improving conditions. The August SCLI reading was 100.96.
Contributing to that value was a 12.8 percent decline in the weekly average number of initial claims for Unemployment Insurance, a 7.6 percent increase in the total valuation associated with issued residential building permits, and a 3.0 percent increase in the duration of the average manufacturing workweek, David Clayton, S.C. Department of Commerce director of research, said in the report.
A 10.1 percent decrease in the number of residential building permits issued dampened the improvement last month.
Even with building permits showing a slight decrease, the report shows that home sales continue to rise. In Greenville, the median home price remained at $160,000 compared to last year, but sales volume increased from 759 in August 2012 to 936 in August 2013. In Spartanburg, the median home price dropped slightly from $129,000 to $125,000, but sales volume increased from 276 to 316 in the same period.
The report also shows that personal income in South Carolina grew 1.1 percent in the second quarter of 2013 after declining 1.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. The 1.1 percent gain outpaced the national average personal income growth of 1.0 percent, and the decline last quarter was 0.1 percent less than the national average decline of 1.3 percent. Total personal income growth in South Carolina last quarter ranked 15th nationwide.
Greenville and Spartanburg saw the greatest decrease in initial UI claims last month, with a 46.2 percent decrease in Spartanburg and a 23.4 percent decrease in Greenville, compared to the overall statewide decrease of 12.8 percent.
