S.C. lost jobs in January

South Carolina lost 30,800 jobs in January compared with December, the state Employment Security Commission said Tuesday.

But the state’s work force reached 1.79 million in January, up nearly 1 percent compared with January 2003.

The state usually sheds jobs after Christmas, but losses were muted this year because holiday hiring was less.

“Normally the unemployment rate does go up in January,” said Sam McClary of the commission. “That’s typical. It’s a slow time for construction, and tourism is at its slowest point, and you’ve got the after-holiday lack of activity.”

The news was not as good in the Columbia area, which lost 4,700 jobs between December and January.

Richland and Lexington counties had 293,500 jobs in January, down 3 percent from January 2003. The commission said most of Columbia’s job cuts came in trade, transportation and utility sectors.

Many jobs statewide were lost in the service industry, as retailers let go of temporary workers at the end of the winter holidays and as the tourism season ended, officials said.

About 5,200 jobs were lost in the tourism industry, mostly because of seasonal layoffs among hotel and restaurant workers, the agency said. About 2,200 construction jobs were also lost.

Manufacturing continued to suffer job losses with about 2,200 in January. The state has lost 11,600, or 4.1 percent, of its factory jobs in the past 12 months, most in the textile industry, the agency said.