SC jobless rate drops again, to 4.3 percent

South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped for the eighth straight month in December, falling to 4.3 percent, according to the state Department of Employment and Workforce. The November rate was 4.4 percent.

The number of people working in December rose by 8,700 from November to a record level of 2,208,923. The number of unemployed declined by 3,204 to 98,962, the lowest level since April 2001, and the labor force rose by 5,496 people to 2,307,885.

Nationally, the jobless rate increased to 4.7 percent in December from 4.6 percent in November.

In the Midlands, Lexington again tied with Charleston for the state’s lowest unemployment rate at 3.3 percent, which was unchanged from November. Richland County’s rate remained at 4 percent, and Kershaw’s rose .1 percentage points to 4.4.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 9:27 AM with the headline "SC jobless rate drops again, to 4.3 percent."