Overcast and 65° F

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A continuing housing slump and the release of seasonal workers after the holidays kept South Carolina’s unemployment rate above 6 percent in January, state officials said Tuesday.

South Carolina’s jobless rate was 6.1 percent in January, down slightly from 6.2 percent the month before, according to the State Employment Security Commission. The state maintained the third-highest jobless rate in the nation, behind Michigan at 7.1 percent and Alaska at 6.5 percent.

The national unemployment rate also dropped one-tenth of a percent, to 4.9 percent, but was up from 4.6 percent compared to a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Continuing economic uncertainty will likely affect job growth in South Carolina over the next few months, the state commission predicted. In January, a persisting downturn in the housing market led to 4,000 construction job cuts, while weak seasonal hiring pushed leisure and professional business services down by 7,500. The release of 9,600 seasonal workers caused a dip in trade and transportation jobs, the commission said.

State officials originally reported that December’s unemployment rate had reached 6.6 percent, the largest single-month increase in nearly 20 years. But labor market analyst Sam McClary said that figure was based on estimates and had been readjusted to 6.2 percent, a number the commission bases on actual employment numbers.

“A lot of our data, particularly on the employment side, is estimated,” McClary said. “We go back and revise it at the end of the year based on more complete counts.”

A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said foreign investment and plans for new ventures show that South Carolina’s economy is surging, despite the job loss numbers.

“As was shown with the BMW announcement yesterday, the unemployment number doesn’t tell the whole story with respect to the economy,” spokesman Joel Sawyer said. “Almost 160,000 more people are working in South Carolina now than when the governor took office, and Commerce is continuing to set records with the amount of investment drawn to the state.”

On Monday, BMW announced that the company will spend $750 million to expand its Greer production facility and create 500 new jobs, doubling the size of its U.S. manufacturing operations. The expansion announcement came about two weeks after BMW said it plans to cut 5,000 jobs in Germany and 600 elsewhere, or 7.5 percent of its work force over two years.

Abbeville County posted the largest monthly decrease in unemployment, with its January jobless rate sliding 2.2 percent to 7.6 percent. Lexington County’s rate was the lowest, holding steady at 4.5 percent. Allendale County posted the state’s highest rate at 14.3 percent.

You must be logged in to comment.