Darlington county unemployment climbs to 9.5 percent in August

Darlington County’s unemployment rate rose a full percentage point in August from 8.5 percent in July to 9.5 percent, the S.C. Employment Security Commission reported Friday.

Chesterfield County’s rate rose 0.9 points from 9.4 percent to 10.3 percent for the month, according to unadjusted figures released by the commission.

And South Carolina’s jobless rate rose significantly for the second straight month, reaching 7.6 percent in August, the commission said. Following a record-setting increase to 7.0 percent in July, the state’s August rate was the highest since May 1993.

Commission officials attributed the state rise to continued layoffs in the manufacturing and construction sector.

The national jobless rate rose in August from 5.7 percent to 6.1 percent.

The latest figures do not reflect last week’s announcement that Wellman Inc. will close its plants in Darlington and Johnsonville affecting nearly 700 jobs, including about 550 at the Darlington plant.

A corporate spokesman for the company said last week that the employees will continue to work for the next 60 days while the plants are prepared to shut down.

Darlington County’s labor force grew in August from 32,268 in July to 32,698, according to the commission’s figures, while the number of jobless rose from 2,743 in July to 3,092 in August. One year ago, Darlington County had 2,102 unemployed out of a labor force of 31,861 for a jobless rate of 6.6 percent.

Chesterfield County saw its labor force grow as well in August, from 18,770 in July to 18,926, while the number of unemployed rose from 1,773 to 1,949 for the period. In August of 2007, Chesterfield reported an unemployment rate of 7.7 percent with 1,432 workers idled out of a labor force of 18,661.

Darlington County’s rate placed it 21st among the state’s 46 counties, while Chesterfield County ranked 16th along with Hampton County.

Among surrounding counties, Marion County had the state’s second highest rate at 15.2 percent compared to 14.7 percent in July. Marlboro County ranked fourth highest at 13.3 percent, up from 12.5 percent in July. Dillon County ranked 13th at 11.4 percent, up from July’s 10.7 percent. Lee County posted the 15th highest rate at 10.6 percent compared to 10.1 percent the previous month. And Florence County ranked 27th at 8.2 percent, an increase from 7.5 percent in July and the Pee Dee’s lowest rate for August.
Not one of the state 46 counties saw its unemployment rate decrease from July.

According to the commission, the number of nonfarm jobs across the state rose by 23,300 in August to 1,965,900, which officials said is typical for this time of year. Most of that increase came in the government employment sector as schools began restaffing for the fall term.

Private sector jobs decreased by 7,600 over the month. Seasonal job gains in education and health services, which rose by 1,300 jobs, were diminished by losses in manufacturing (down 1,600), construction (down 1,000), trade, transportation and utilities (down 1,500) and professional and business services (down 700), the commission reported.

Leisure and hospitality reported a seasonal loss of 3,200 jobs for the month.

Overall, the nonfarm job count was 3,800 below the August 2007 level, according to the commission.

Persistently high levels of unemployment over the last year in South Carolina have taken a toll on the state’s Unemployment Insurance trust fund, according to Roosevelt T. Halley, executive director of the commission. The fund, the source of benefits for qualified unemployed workers, is generated through taxes paid by the state’s employers based on their number of employees.

The amount of employer taxes decreases with layoffs, while the need for funds increases as the unemployment rate goes up.

Halley said that despite the low level of funding in the trust fund, jobless workers will continue to get their benefits because the federal government provides loans to states that deplete their trust funds.

South Carolina currently pays about $10 million a week in unemployment insurance benefits.