Anderson County’s unemployment rate is currently at 5.9%, down from the recent high of 12.6% in April.
The change is due mainly to the fact that employment growth is not meeting labor force growth at this time, according to Steve Newton of Anderson County Governmental Affairs.
“In terms of local numerical employment growth, we are about a year behind where we need to be,” Newton said. “Employment numbers have been rebounding fairly well, and if they continue to make healthy gains between now and the end of the year, we have a chance to be back “where we should be” in January and February. Of course, things being as they are, a lot can happen between now and then.”
Newton said, “It looks to my experience that we are a year behind where we should be in terms of total employment.
In April of 2020, total employment dropped 8.1% versus April of 2019. “Employment picked up over the succeeding months, but we are only now reaching a point where the total current total employment is comparable to the same month last year.”
Newton said, “Meanwhile, labor force numbers, largely unaffected by the slowdown since both employed and unemployed persons are counted, have been behaving at roughly the same level as has been observed over the past eight years.”
