South Carolina’s jobless rate has topped 11 percent. The state’s unemployed rose 2700 up to more than 282,000. The national jobless rate jumped Friday from 8.9 percent in April to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than a quarter century.

At the beginning of the year, financial analysts had speculated that the economy could turn upward during the summer months. More recently, analysts said the economy would likely bottom out during the summer and eventually climb back up.

Dr. Richard Clodfelter with USC’s College of Hospitality, Sports and Retail Management, says he hopes that’s the case, and it’s still a rough time to be a retailer.  “There have been a lot of store closings out there.  But we get mixed signals.  It’s a forecast and no one really knows.  We get two months when retailers inch themselves up, and that’s followed by two months when they drop again.  We haven’t  had sustained direction one way or another.”   

Economists say this is the most severe economic slump since 1981.

Clodfelter says consumers are not spending, because of their fears.  “They’re scared of furloughs, losing their jobs, having gas prices go back up to $4.  A lot of customers still have the money but they’re electing to save it, waiting to see what happens.  A lot of customers aren’t going out to buy that new car or sweater.” 

Clodfelter says signs are being taken down and the lives of retailers have had to change in many cases.   “People have lost jobs across the board.  And it has happened in retail, too.  It happened at Goody’s recently, basically tossing out all those people.  And it’s even happening in state government.  All the teacher layoffs.  I never thought I would see that.  All of this is adding to the poor (retail) situation.”

U.S. Banker Magazine released its “top community banks” list in the June issue. The list ranks the top 200 banks across the United States. Ranked at number 41, the Bank of South Carolina, headquartered in Charleston, also placed itself as the best in the state. Bank President Hugh Lane reacts.  ”I think it’s important in the overall scheme of things because it singles us out as one of the best few hundred community banks in the country. It’s nice to be the top community bank in the state but we’ve got to retain that too.”

To receive this rating, the report looked into each banks’ three-year average return on equity, which is the bank’s total net income divided by the shareholder equity. The Bank of South Carolina’s average was 14.57 percent.

“I think it represented the kind of performance you’ve have had in this particular environment, and I think anytime, as the times we’re in now, if you can keep you return on equity in the double digits you’re doing fairly well,” says Lane.

Lane explains what makes his bank stand out.

“Principle thing is I think good companies do the basics well and we have focused on that, and at the same time we have tried to be a little atypical bank in the fact that since we started 22 years ago we have been very much a nitch bank and have tried to differentiate ourselves with long-term relationships with our customers, personal service, responsiveness, and attention to detail,” says Lane.

Three other banks in the state made the top list; Palmetto Bancshares in Laurens, Grandsouth Bancorporation in Greenville, and CNB Corp. in Conway.