South Carolina’s Employment Situation January 2014

Rate Continues Its Downward Trend
 
COLUMBIA, SC – March 17, 2014 – South Carolina started off 2014 with another drop in itsunemployment rate. The January 2014 rate of 6.4 percent was down fromDecember 2013’s benchmarked seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 6.6 percent. This is the second month that the state’s rate was lower thanthe national rate since January 2001.

“An eighth consecutive monthly drop in South Carolina’s unemploymentrate is a great way to begin 2014,” said Cheryl M. Stanton, executivedirector of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.“As employment levels continue to rise, more South Carolinians areworking than ever before at a record-breaking high of 2,030,996 inJanuary. This is outstanding news for the Palmetto State as DEW strivesto help every South Carolinian get a job.”
 
The number ofunemployed persons was estimated at 138,268, and the estimated employedwas 2,030,996, an increase of approximately 22,127 compared to January2013. The number of working South Carolinians continues to trend upward, reaching an historic high in January.

 
Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted1)
Non-farm payroll employment data showed the state’s first over-the-monthdecrease since June 2013. January’s non-farm payroll employmentdecreased by 4,800 to reach a level of 1,916,700.

• Gains werereported in Professional and Business Services (+1,100); Education andHealth Services (+400); and Information (+100).
• Decreasesoccurred in Construction (-1,700); Financial Activities (-1,200); Trade, Transportation and Utilities (-1,000); Government (-1,000); and OtherServices (-900).
• Additional declines were felt in Leisure and Hospitality (-500) and Manufacturing (-100).

 
Since January of 2013, seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs were up 37,400.

• Industries with prominent gains were Leisure and Hospitality (+9,500); Trade,Transportation and Utilities (+8,600); Manufacturing (+5,600); Education and Health Services (+5,200); Professional and Business Services(+3,600); Government (+2,500); Other Services (+1,500); Construction(+900); and Financial Activities (+100).
• Information remained flat over the year.

 
Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Not Seasonally Adjusted2)
The not-seasonally adjusted, non-farm payroll employment in Januarydecreased by 35,200 over the month to 1,888,000. This decline is typical for the December-to-January time period due to seasonal layoffs andschool closings between terms. No industries saw an increase inemployment in January. Losses were found in Trade, Transportation andUtilities (-12,200); Government (-5,500); Leisure and Hospitality(-4,600); Professional and Business Services (-3,700); Education andHealth Services (-3,200); Construction (-2,400); Financial Activities(-1,500); and Other Services (1,400).

Since January 2013,not-seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs were up 46,000 overall in thestate. These annual gains came from Leisure and Hospitality (+11,300);Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+10,400); Manufacturing (+6,900);Education and Health Services (+5,000); Government (+3,400);Professional and Business Services (+3,100); Construction (+2,800);Other Services (+1,800) and Financial Activities (+1,300). Informationincreased (+100), while Natural Resources and Mining decreased (-100).

 
1Seasonally Adjusted: Seasonal adjustment removes the effects of events that follow a more or less regular pattern each year (i.e. tourist-related hiring and schoolclosings in the summer). These adjustments make it easier to observe the cyclical and other nonseasonal movements in data over time.

2Not Seasonally Adjusted: Effects of regular or seasonal patterns have not been removed from these data.