The remarkable gains in jobs created in Anderson County in recent months continued in March, as well. In February according to statistics provided by the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW). The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) report issued by SCDEW measured Anderson County’s February2014 unemployment rate at 4.5%.
In the past 12 months labor force participation has increased by more than 800, and the number of employed persons has grown by more than 3,400. The local unemployment rate for February of last year measured 7.6%.The momentum established in recent months continues to grow.
The SCDEW report showed that 82,431 Anderson residents were employed in February, an increase of 981 from January. The number of employed Andersonians has increased by more than 9,000 since January of 2010, when employment reached its recession-era low of 73,220. In addition, labor force participation remained stable during February. In February and January approximately 86,300 residents were counted in the labor force.
More Anderson County residents are employed now than ever before. The March numbers are the best since fifteen years ago, when the previous record level of employment was established. The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) report showed that 83,144 residents were employed in March. The previous employment high was 82,908 in June of 1999. A total of 700 jobs were added in March, according to the report. In the past 12 months the number of employed persons in Anderson County has grown by more than 3,257.
In addition, 87,228 residents were counted as being in the labor force during March, an increase of more than 900 from February. The local unemployment rate for March of 2014 measured 4.7%, compared to the 6.9% recorded in March of 2013. The March 2014 rate is slightly higher than that observed in February (4.5%), due primarily to the large influx of persons entering the labor force.
“I am happy to see these numbers, but we can’t ease up on our economic development efforts”, said Anderson County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn. “In today’s world you can go down as quickly as you can go up, so we can’t afford to be complacent. I am confident we are up to the challenges that lie ahead. I want to thank my fellow Council members and the entire community for their continued support of our economic development strategy.”
The SCDEW report showed that almost 10,000 more county residents are employed now than in January of 2010, when employment reached its recession-era low of 73,220.
Statewide, the unemployment rate decreased to a seasonally-adjusted 5.5% in March from 5.7% in February.
