SC unemployment rate drops for 4th straight month to 11 percent, but work force is shrinking

SC unemployment rate drops for 4th straight month

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s unemployment rate was down for the fourth straight month to 11 percent in May, but at least one expert said Friday the state continues to see a troubling decline in its labor force.

Last month’s jobless rate was a half percentage point lower than a revised 11.5 percent reported for April and down from 11.7 percent in May 2009. The unemployment rate peaked at 12.5 percent in January.

The national jobless rate for May was 9.7 percent. South Carolina had the nation’s seventh-highest unemployment rate behind Nevada (14 percent), Michigan (13.6 percent), California (12.4 percent), Rhode Island (12.3 percent), Florida (11.7 percent) and Mississippi (11.4 percent), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Part of the improvement in the unemployment rate came from a decrease of almost 7,700 people in the state’s total labor force, Coastal Carolina University research economist Donald Schunk said in a report Friday. It was the third straight month of declines in the labor force, adding up to about 27,000 fewer workers than in May 2009.

“Yes, the jobless rate is moving in the right direction,” Schunk said. “But a healthy labor market needs to be able to accommodate labor force growth, not decline.”

The good news was an additional 22,100 jobs in May from April, the state Department of Employment and Workforce reported, with almost all sectors seeing gains. However, without the increase in government hiring led by 8,500 new U.S. Census workers, the state would have seen a slight decline in jobs from May 2009.

“As Census hiring fades in the coming months, South Carolina’s employment recovery will face a significant test,” Schunk said. “Is there enough private sector momentum building in the economy to keep the recovery moving forward?”

The leisure and hospitality industries added 5,500 jobs as the state’s tourism season got under way last month, but total employment in the sector was down more than 5,000 jobs from the previous year.

Professional and business services added 2,100 jobs in May from April — totaling 16,000 more jobs than that sector reported in the previous May.

Marion County had the highest unemployment rate at 18.6 percent. Aiken County had the lowest rate at 7.4 percent. Marlboro County showed the greatest improvement with a jobless rate of 17.6 percent in May, down from 19.4 percent in April.