South Carolina’s December unemployment rate shot up to 9 1/2 percent. If the grim numbers aren’t enough to bring you down think about underemployment. That means, local employers are struggling to give their employees enough hours to fill up a 40 hour week.
Operating owner and manager Patrick Brady of Damon’s Grill in North Myrtle Beach said he had to make cut backs to make adjustments that work for his business.
“Obviously the economy has effected everyone through out the country and obviously through out the Grand Strand,” said Brady. “As a business we’ve had to scale back on hours of our employees and we’ve had managers to hourly tasks normally that an hourly employee would do, so we’ve cut back A through Z.”
News 13 spoke with Brandon Hepler who is one of Brady’s employees. Hepler said he has a college degree in teaching and even then for the last 18 months he hasn’t been able to find a job in his field. That’s why in the mean time he’s waiting tables but may not for long if he isn’t getting enough hours to work.
“I’m not making any money,” said Hepler. “I mean it’s horrible having a degree and I'm struggling so bad.”
News 13 also talked with Mary Nell Smith at the Coastal Workforce Center about what underemployment means for Horry County. She said that those type of circumstances paint a true picture of the difficulties people like Hepler face, especially in a recession.
"It’s been really tough. Because under good circumstances those people have figured out just about how they can make it through the year, well this year the hours started getting cut in the summer and they didn't even make it to October.”
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement