South Carolina’s Employment Situation June 2012
July 20, 2012
Unemployment Rate Increases
South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 9.4percent in June from 9.1 percent in May. This is the second consecutiverise in the rate, but is well below the June 2011 rate of 10.5 percent.
The climb in the rate was fueled by an increasing number of unemployedpeople (up 6,618 in June to 202,918) and a decrease in people who wereemployed (down 9,391 to 1,947,936). The decline in employment can beattributed to a fall in full-time jobs with schools out for the summer.The overall labor force moved downward slightly by 2,773 people to2,150,854.
Nationally, the unemployment rate remained the same from May to June at 8.2 percent.
Overall non-farm payroll jobs (not seasonally adjusted) increased by1,800 from May to June 2012, with a strong seasonal rise in Leisure andHospitality (+3,700). Three sectors (Manufacturing; Trade,Transportation, and Utilities; and Professional and Business Services)had gains of 1,500 each. Construction also posted a healthy increase(+1,000).
A large summer drop in state and local education gave Governmentemployment a decline of 4,900 from May to June 2012, along with asmaller decrease in Education and Health Services (-1,500).
In the last year, total non-farm employment saw an overall increase of22,800 jobs. The strong Manufacturing sector grew 7,400 from June 2011to June 2012, and Professional and Business Services also reported alarge gain over the year (+7,200), with the Employment Servicessubsector adding 6,700 of that increase. In addition, largeover-the-year gains were posted in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities(+5,800) and Education and Health Services (+3,400), mostly inHealthcare and Social Assistance. In the last year, both Constructionand Financial Activities employment has dropped 1,200.
Online job ads in South Carolina, as reported by the Conference BoardHelp Wanted OnLine® data series, showed an increase of about 4,000 adsfrom May to June. The number of jobseekers per opening decreasedslightly from 3.7 to 3.5 this past month. Online ads across the UnitedStates saw an increase of 232,300 in the last month. Compared to a yearago, online ads in South Carolina were approximately 7,700 higher inJune 2012.
The Trident Workforce Area (Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchestercounties) had the most ads (13,214), with the Midlands Workforce Area(Fairfield, Lexington, and Richland counties) coming in next (11,920).Of all online ads, Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupationshad the highest number of ads in the state (10,509).
“While South Carolina’s unemployment rate edged up from May to June,much progress has been made since last year as there were more than22,000 jobs added,” said Abraham J. Turner, executive director of the SC Department of Employment and Workforce. “Businesses continue to chooseour great state as a place to locate or expand, and DEW is committed toworking with employers to meet their workforce needs.”
