Number of jobs climbs to record high in S.C.

But job creation doesn’t keep pace with labor force growth

By JIM DuPLESSIS

jduplessis@thestate.com

South Carolina set a record by surpassing 1.9 million jobs in April, but the number of people looking for work grew even faster, pushing the state’s jobless rate to 6.6 percent.

Government reports released Friday showed the state’s unemployment rate rose from 6.5 percent in March after seasonal adjustments, while the U.S. jobless rate held steady at 4.7 percent.

The increase in the state’s monthly jobless rate was its third in a row and remained the nation’s fourth worst, a position South Carolina has held since January.

But USC economist Don Schunk said the report shows the state’s economy is continuing to improve.

“The biggest story right now is that the state has finally begun to post very solid rates of job growth. Before long, the growth in the labor force should subside. At that point, the unemployment rate will begin to more clearly reflect the strength of the economy,” Schunk said.

The state had 1,915,100 jobs in April, 15,600 more than in March and 48,400 more than in April 2005. Even manufacturing showed a gain of 1,500 jobs from March to April, but the sector still employs 4,000 fewer people than a year ago.

The reports from the S.C. Employment Security Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the state had 2.6 percent more jobs in April than a year earlier.

After jobs peaked in June 2000 at 1,900,500, the state lost jobs in 2001 and 2002 and showed negligible gains in 2003. The state’s job creation picked up in the past two years, with jobs rising 1.6 percent in 2005.

“Our state’s economy has apparently entered a phase of very rapid job growth,” Schunk said. “My most recent forecast for job growth in the state for 2006 was about 2.1 percent. So far in 2006, the state is outpacing this prediction.”

Gov. Mark Sanford, a Republican running for re-election, said rapid improvement in the state’s economy is shown by Friday’s jobs report and a report earlier this week from the Board of Economic Advisors. The board forecast about $1 billion more revenue this year than it had previously predicted.

“Regardless of month-to-month changes in the state’s unemployment rate, there are some more telling signs that say we’re moving in the right direction with respect to our economy,” Sanford said. “To continue that pace of growth, we believe more money needs to be returned to the private sector so we can grow the economy, not government.”

But state Sen. John Land, a leading Democrat in the General Assembly, said Sanford’s comments ignore the state’s rise in unemployment to rank well above not only the nation, but also neighboring North Carolina (4.3 percent) and Georgia (4.6 percent).

South Carolina’s 6.6 percent jobless rate for April was higher than every state but Mississippi (7.7 percent), Michigan (7.2 percent) and Alaska (7 percent).

“Once again we find ourselves lagging behind the rest of the nation,” Land said. “Reality says we are in a job crisis. Unfortunately, Sanford continues to ignore the problems and say that everything is just fine.”

The Columbia metro area’s jobless rate was 5.3 percent in April, down from 5.5 percent in March without seasonal adjustment. The area comprises Richland, Lexington, Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw and Saluda counties.

The seasonal adjustment for April assumes jobs rising rapidly in the spring. Local area jobless rates, which are based on samples too small to support seasonal adjustments, fell in all but six of the state’s 46 counties.

Reach DuPlessis at (803) 771-8305.