South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped in July, the first decline since January 2008, according to the State Employment Security Commission. However, the state unemployment rate of 11.8% is still above the national average of 9.4%.With so many out there looking for work, the agencies have faced unprecedented challenges with their own workload.
South Carolina was awarded $5.6 million dollars through the Wagner-Peyser Act to help provide relief for the unemployed. This has given the Employment Security Commission room to hire 83 job developers and re-employment specialists -adding to their own workforce.
Director of Communications for the South Carolina Employment Commission, Clark Newsome explains,”There are a lot of qualified people out there. So you have a better grouping to call on than perhaps before. And so we’ve got some really good folks who have had some experience in workforce development, and are doing a good job to help people who have been in the same situation they have been and connect with employers.”
Job developers are calling on businesses, telling businesses about the agency and obtaining new accounts to acquire available jobs all across the state.
“Statewide our 36-offices range all across SC and so virtually no county will not have some sort of help through our workforce centers..and these folks have been hired on,” says Newsome.
Newsome adds that all those who were hired were unemployed themselves.
The state’s job count dropped 30,800 in July with most of the losses occurring in Local Government Education Services as state and local schools completed the school year.
