SC reports record-tying 12.6 percent jobless rate for Jan.; number climbs in all 46 counties

SC unemployment rate ties record high in January

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s unemployment rate tied its record high in January at 12.6 percent, and jobless numbers went up in all of the state’s 46 counties, according to data released Wednesday.

The Employment Security Commission also revised December’s rate down slightly to 12.4 percent. That month’s unemployment was originally measured at 12.6 percent, a state record high South Carolina matched in January.

The state’s jobless rate was well above the national rate, which dipped to 9.7 percent in January. Nationally, South Carolina’s unemployment rate ranked fourth behind Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island.

The number of South Carolina’s unemployed rose about 4,600 to more than 273,000 people, also setting a state record high. As temporary workers were released after the holiday shopping season, the retail sector cut 7,700 positions in January.

Manufacturing showed little change from December, although that sector has lost more than 20,000 jobs in the state over the last year.

Allendale and Marion counties tied for the state’s highest rate, at 24.3 percent. Unemployment was lowest in Lexington County, at 9.4 percent.

Economists said last month the state’s chronically high unemployment rate could top 13 percent before it starts to improve.

State lawmakers have been mulling plans to put South Carolina’s problem-plagued jobless benefits agency under the governor’s control. Last month, the Senate gave final approval to an overhaul of the Employment Security Commission, putting the agency into Gov. Mark Sanford’s Cabinet, renaming it the Workforce Department and allowing the governor to appoint the director. The House and Senate have yet to agree on a final version.

On Wednesday, a consultant was briefing a Senate committee on what the restructuring could cost.

As part of that debate, legislators discussed a state audit showed that the Commission didn’t pay the government the income tax it withheld from jobless benefits for months last year and faced nearly $1 million in penalties.

The delinquency brought a $900,000 state penalty plus $50,000 in interest. The state Revenue Department forgave the $900,000 levy and half the interest, but required the commission to pay $25,000 in interest.