COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina's Department of Employment and Work Force (DEW) has released an overview of the state of employment in the state for the month of September 2020.
The data compares numbers for September of 2020 against August 2020 and September 2019, and reflects the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shutdown of businesses during that time. The comparisons also use seasonally adjusted data and non-seasonally adjusted data to total employment numbers in selected industries.
(Seasonally adjusted data removes the effects of events that follow a more-or-less pattern each year -- tourist season, schools closing during summer, etc -- so that it's easier to observe the cyclical and other non-seasonal movements in data over time.)
DEW Executive Director Dan Ellzey said, “September’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.1 percent is an impressive decline from last month’s revised estimate of 6.4 percent. However, what our agency is hearing from the business community is the urgent need for workers. While we know a lot of businesses suffered layoffs during the pandemic, industries have ramped back up and several are experiencing a boom.”
DEW's numbers show that non-farming industries experiencing increased hiring include leisure and hospitality as restaurants and bars now have the option to begin operating at 100% capacity. The comparison of data from September 2019 and September 2020 shows the coastal regions near Charleston and Myrtle Beach had the largest unemployment increases over the year.
“People who are looking for employment are finding work,” continued Ellzey. "And now is the time to secure one of these in-demand jobs because South Carolina needs people in the workforce. If individuals have stopped looking for work because they believe businesses are closed or not hiring, let me assure you that is not the case. We are working with employers all over the state who need employees now more than ever."
Household Survey
The Household Survey -- or current population survey -- is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households conducted by the Census Bureau of Labor Statistics and provides monthly statistics on employment, unemployment, and related subjects.
Employment: The seasonally adjusted, monthly survey of households estimated the number of South Carolinians working increased to 2,268,821 for September 2020.
- That is an increase of 2,571 people over August 2020.
- That is also a significant decrease of 54,021 people over September 2019.
Unemployment: Unemployment estimates declined significantly in September 2020 to 121,485 people.
- That is a significant decrease of 33,324 people since August 2020 and a notable increase of 64,035 over September 2019.
- The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 5.1 percent in September from August’s revised estimate of 6.4 percent.
- Nationally, the unemployment rate declined from 8.4 percent in August to 7.9 percent in September.
Labor force: The state’s estimated labor force (people working plus unemployed people looking for work) decreased significantly in September 2020 to 2,390,306.
- That is a substantial decrease of 30,753 people over August 2020.
- That is an increase of 10,014 individuals over September 2019.
Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Seasonally Adjusted)
The Current Employment Survey of businesses in South Carolina marked an increase of 24,800 nonfarm payroll jobs over the month to a level of 2,119,700.
- Industries reporting gains were Leisure and Hospitality (+8,200); Other Services (+7,300); Professional and Business Services (+4,900); Manufacturing (+3,600); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+1,500); Financial Activities (+600); Construction and Information (+300), respectively.
- Decreases were noticed in the Government (-2,600) industry.
From September 2019 to September 2020, South Carolina’s economy has lost 79,600 seasonally adjusted, nonfarm jobs.
- Only the Other Services (+8,700) and Construction (+2,200) industries reported gains over the year.
- Decreases were reported in Leisure and Hospitality (-46,800); Education and Health Services (-14,200); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-11,100); Government (-9,300); Professional and Business Services (-5,800); Financial Activities (-1,800); Information (-800); and Manufacturing (-400).
Nonagricultural Employment by Industry (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Not seasonally adjusted, nonfarm payroll employment increased by 19,200 from August 2020 to September 2020 for a total of 2,115,200.
Industries reporting growth during this period were Government (+8,100); Other Services (+5,500); Professional and Business Services (+4,300); Education and Health Services (+2,700); Manufacturing (+2,600); and Information (+100).
Industries reporting declines were Leisure and Hospitality (-2,900); Financial Activities (-600); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-500); and Mining and Logging (-100).
Construction remained flat.
Since September 2019, not seasonally adjusted, nonfarm jobs were down 76,400 overall in South Carolina.
- Only the Other Services (+8,800) and Construction (+1,900) industries showed annual gains.
- Industries recording an over the year loss are Leisure and Hospitality (-49,200); Education and Health Services (-12,900); Government (-9,900); Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-8,800); Professional and Business Services (-4,000); Financial Activities (-1,400); Information (-600); and Mining and Logging (-300). Manufacturing has remained flat.
“We urge anyone who is without work to go to jobs.scworks.org, where they can search through tens of thousands of jobs or visit scworks.org to find an SC Works center near them to explore the resources available in their local area. The SC Works consultants have relationships with employers and are tapped into the labor market. They can help individuals rewrite a resume, practice for interviews, search for jobs, prep for work – the whole deal! It’s really quite impressive, and it’s all free to jobseekers,” said Ellzey.
Click here for the complete report.
