S.C.’s jobless rate declines again in August

South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped for the fourth consecutive month in August, to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent in July.

Unemployment fell by 3,856 people to 116,998. Employment also decreased by 2,009 to 2,180,876. This resulted in a decline in the labor force of 5,865 to 2,297,874. Since August 2015, employment has increased by 54,553 along with an increase of 45,086 for the labor force. Unemployment has fallen by 9,467.

Nationally, the unemployment rate remained the same from July to August at 4.9 percent.

In the Midlands, Lexington County remains tied with Charleston for the state’s unemployment rate at 4.5 percent. However, that was a slight increase from July’s 4.4 percent for both counties. A year ago, Lexington’s unemployment rate was 5 percent.

In Richland County, the unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in August, an increase of .1 percentage points from July. Kershaw County’s rate dropped .1 percentage points in August to 5.8. A year ago, Richland’s unemployment rate was 5.8 percent and Kershaw’s was 6.1 percent.

This story was originally published September 20, 2016 at 2:35 PM with the headline "S.C.’s jobless rate declines again in August."