MARION — While South Carolina’s unemployment rate continued to decline for a fourth straight month in May, many Pee Dee residents remain out of work.
That's especially true in Marion County, which continues to lead the state in unemployment.
The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce said May’s state unemployment rate was down one half a percentage point from the revised 11.5 percent rate in April. Marion Count’s rate for May was unchanged from April at 18.6 percent.
Marion County Economic Development Director Rodney Berry said he and many others in the county have worked tirelessly to recruit and maintain new industry, and the county has yet to see the impact of their efforts. It’s worth noting Marion County saw an unemployment rate of about 22 percent a year ago, meaning the unemployment rate has dropped nearly 4 percent in 12 months.
“We haven’t seen the full effect of some of the industries that are coming because one is at about 50 percent capacity and we have one that has yet to hire anybody, so I think we’ve got even greater things to look forward to,” Berry said.
Marion County since has welcomed new businesses like Supreme Softees Diaper Corp. in September and ACAS landing gear in February, as well as Boggs Paving Inc. which had its first day of operations June 21 in its Mullins location. But just last week, Spartan Motors Inc. announced plans to close down its Road Rescue ambulance operation in Marion at the end of the year, possibly putting 132 employees out of work.
Many unemployed Marion County residents, like Willie Mason, said new industry locating in the area makes them hopeful, but they realize they are competing with many other applicants in the same position.
Mason has been out of work for six months and is seeking employment.
“It made me feel better to hear that jobs were coming to the area,” he said, “but there are just so many people there to get them when they come … so, it’s on the up and up but I just hope everybody can come together and we can all get a financially stable job ... ”
Those looking for work said they will continue to submit applicants and hope for the best, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to maintain their households without work.
“I’m just hoping to find a good job you know, that I can work at for a long time and make something better out of myself,” said Marion resident Jordee Brown, who has been out of work for nearly a month.
Berry said economic development officials are continually working to establish new contacts and encourage businesses to locate in Marion County. He said the county has an eager and intelligent work force and is simply in need of more opportunities.
“It’s a very competitive field, but for once there’s hope in Marion County,” he said. “There’s something at the end of the rainbow, so we’ve got a lot of people holding onto that hope, but still that let’s us know that we’ve got so much more work to do.”
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