Anderson County's unemployment rate jumped to 3.5 percent in June, up from 2.7 percent in May. The increase reflects a statwide trend. Every other county in South Carolina posted similar increases for June.
Of the 90,079 member workforce in the county, 86,926 were employed while 3,153 remain jobless.
The statewide jobless rate dropped to 3.8 percent in June, down from 4 percent in May.
"June always brings a huge increase in the labor force and it's difficult for the job market to absorb all these potential workers, so we always see a big jump in the rate this month," said Steve Newton, director of governmental affairs for Anderson County. "If trends hold we'll see things stabilize when the numbers for July come out."
The number of individuals working across the state reached a new high in June, increasing by 648 people to an estimated level of 2,226,062. Unemployment decreased significantly for the third consecutive month by nearly 5,425 people to 87,080. While the state’s labor force declined by 4,777 to 2,313,142 people, seasonally adjusted jobs have increased by 3,400 over the month to a record level of 2,125,700.
Note the state rate is seasonably adjusted, unlike the county jobless rates which are based on raw data.
Nationally, the unemployment rate edged up to 4 percent from May’s rate of 3.8 percent.