Anderson Unemployment Lowest Since June 2008

Anderson County’s unemployment rate decreased to 6.5% in October, according to a report released Friday by the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.  This rate is the lowest recorded for Anderson County since June 2008, when the rate was measured at 6.6%.  During the recession the unemployment rate hit a high of 13.6% in February 2010.

The release of the monthly Local Area Unemployment Statistics Report (LAUS) also stated that 78,479 Anderson residents were employed as of October.  This is the highest employment number measured since December 2008, when employment was measured at 78,502.  Employment had dipped to a low of 73,220 in January of 2010.

5,499 Andersonians were unemployed in October, according to the report.  The number of unemployed residents is at its lowest level since May 2008, when 4,905 residents were reported as being unemployed.  The number of unemployed persons peaked at 11,578 in February 2010.

“We have come a long way since the darkest days of the Great Recession, but much work remains to be done”, said Anderson County Council Chairman Francis M. Crowder, Sr.  “For now I am thankful that so many of our residents have found rewarding employment opportunities since those worst days when hope seemed to be lost for so many families.  These numbers seem to indicate that our economic development strategies are yielding the results we hoped for, and I am committed to doing all I can to continue to build upon the success we’ve seen so far.”

SCDEW on Friday also made available the Current Employment Statistics (CES) report for October.  The CES provides detailed industry data on employment for workers on nonfarm payrolls.  Whereas the LAUS reports employment by residence of worker, the CES reports employment by locations of individual business establishments.

According to the CES, businesses located in Anderson County employed a total of 62,300 persons as of October.  This number is an increase of 4,000 (6%) since 2009.  The report shows that manufacturing companies in Anderson County employ 12,200 people, an increase of 1,000 jobs (8%) over what was observed in 2009. Employment by production workers in all Goods-Producing industries (which includes manufacturing, mining, and construction) has increased by 1,600 since 2009 and now stands at 15,500.  Private sector industry establishments in Anderson County employ a total of 50,500 people—an increase of 3,900 (8%) since 2009.