Business & Tech

Unemployment Rate Increases Slightly in Richland County

The rate ticked up to 8.5 percent in January.

The unemployment rate increased slightly in Richland County and in the state in January, according to data released Monday by the S.C. Department of Employment & Workforce (DEW). 

Richland County's unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent in January from 8 percent in December 2012, according to the statistics. More than 15,000 people in the county are unemployed.

The state's unemployment rate is 8.7 percent. That's up from a rate of 8.6 percent in December 2012. 

Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Lexington County has the lowest unemployment rate for January at 6.8 percent. Marion County has the state's highest rate at 19.2 percent.

Nationally, the unemployment rate rose slightly from 7.8 percent in December 2012 to 7.9 percent in January.

Find out what's happening in Columbiafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.