COLUMBIA, S.C. (WMBF) – The number of employed South Carolinians increased by more than 14,780 during the month of May, according to data published Wednesday by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
That brings the estimated number of residents currently working to roughly 2.3 million and represents a significant increase, DEW officials said.
“After four months of nudging in the right direction, this fifth month sees a significant drop as South Carolina moves from April’s unemployment rate of 5.0% to a 4.6% unemployment rate in May,” S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey said.
Leisure and hospitality jobs led the charge, seeing the most growth with more than 9,200 jobs added from April to May, and more than 55,000 seasonally adjusted positions year-over-year, according to DEW statistics. Unemployment rates in Horry and Florence counties dropped to 4.5% and 3.7%, respectively.
“It is exciting to see South Carolina’s workforce engine revving up again,” Ellzey said
Gov. Henry McMaster’s deadline to end federal pandemic unemployment benefits programs in South Carolina is June 30.
In a press release, DEW officials said the last week of unemployment that will be paid under that program is the claim week ending Saturday, June 26, 2021.
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