Jobless Rates Increase Slightly for Richland, Lexington Counties

The jobless rate in both Lexington and Richland counties as well as the state saw slight increases in December. 

South Carolina's unemployment rate increased to 8.4 percent from 8.3 percent in November, according to statistics released Friday by the S.C. Department of Employment & Workforce (DEW).

Compared to the December 2011 unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, that figure is still lower by 1.2 percent.

DEW Executive Director Abraham Turner said the increase was due, in part, to a decline in employment of seasonal workers in the a leisure and hospitality industry. 

Leisure and hospitality fell 5,900 due to a drop in demand for arts, entertainment, and recreation, as well as accommodation and food services, according to DEW.

Lexington County's unemployment rate was 6.6 percent in December to 6.3 percent in November. The county is still has the state's lowest jobless rate. 

In Richland County, the unemployment numbers increased from 7.8 percent in November to 8 percent in December. 

Marion County has the state's highest unemployment rate at 17.2 percent. 

Officials say the state's number of employed improved by 5,325 to 1,969,560 over the month.

The number of unemployed grew since November by 3,211 to 180,032 in December, and the labor force expanded by 8,536 to 2,149,592, DEW reports.

From November to December 2012, the state’s nonagricultural employment (not seasonally adjusted) fell 5,800 to 1,874,300. This was the first decline since July 2012, officials said. Even with the fall, jobs were still up 31,500 from a year ago. 

The national unemployment rate remained at 7.8 percent, with roughly 28,000 more Americans working and 164,000 additional people searching for work, according to the report.