South Carolina’s Employment Situation May 2014

Unemployment Rate Holding Steady

In May, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 5.3 percent, reflecting no change from April’s estimate. An increase of 736 people moved the estimated unemployment level to 115,172 in May.

The number of South Carolinians working continues to trend upward, rising for 10 consecutive months and reaching a historic high in May of 2,051,011, increasing by 500 since April. The labor force noted a modest increase of 1,236 people from April to May, reaching a level of 2,166,183.

Since May 2013, an estimated 35,821 people have found work, but overall, the labor force decreased by nearly 20,961 people. The state’s unemployment rate has declined from the previous year by 2.6 percentage points, marking one of the largest declines in the nation.

Nationally, the unemployment rate remained at 6.3 percent for May.

 

Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted¹)

 May’s seasonally adjusted, non-farm payroll employment increased by 3,000 over the month to 1,929,200. This was the third over-the-month increase in 2014.

• Gains were reported in Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+3,600) and Manufacturing (+1,400), with minimal increases in Professional and Business Services and Information, each with (+200).
• Construction (-1,100); Other Services (-600); Education and Health Services (-400); Government (-200); and Leisure and Hospitality (-100) saw decreases. Since May 2013, seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs were up 38,100.
• Industries with noticeable gains were Professional and Business Services (+8,800); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+8,500); Manufacturing (+8,200); Leisure and Hospitality (+7,800); Education and Health Services (+5,000); and Construction (+2,300), and a small increase in Information (+200).
• Industries experiencing a decline over the year were Other Services (-1,100); Financial Activities (-1,000); and Government (-500).

 

Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Not Seasonally Adjusted²)

 In May, non-farm payroll employment (not seasonally adjusted) improved by 12,100 over the month to 1,946,500. Growth was seen in Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+4,900); Leisure and Hospitality (+3,700); Professional and Business Services (+3,200); Manufacturing (+900); Financial Activities (+700); and Information (+300). Employment drops were reported in Education and Health Services (-1,000) as private educational institutions and related services began their usual summer downturn;Construction (-500); and Other Services (-100).

Since May 2013, not-seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs were up 34,700 overall in South Carolina. These annual gains came from Professional and Business Services (+9,000); Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+8,100); Manufacturing (+6,800); Leisure and Hospitality (+6,100); Education and Health Services (+4,600); Construction (+2,200); and a slight upward movement in Information (+200). There were losses over the year in Financial Activities (-1,100); Other Services (-1,000); Government (-100); and Natural Resources and Mining (-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 school closings 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.

 

 

DEW Executive Director Cheryl M. Stanton’s Statement
May 2014 Employment Situation

Employment Increased for Tenth Consecutive Month

“I’m excited that South Carolinians continue to go back to work at all-time highs with more than two million people working.” said Cheryl M. Stanton, executive director of the SC Department of Employment and Workforce. “Our work is never finished, but we made great strides this month in Manufacturing and Trade, Transportation and Utilities. DEW remains focused on working with our businesses and workforce partners to continue to move South Carolina’s economy forward.”