Bryan Grady, labor market information director at the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, said the number of people getting hired has increased in the last year.
The unemployment rate in South Carolina has dropped 0.9% since February 2021. The current rate is 3.5% — the lowest it has been since the start of the pandemic.
Bryan Grady, labor market information director at the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, said South Carolina’s unemployment rate has almost reached pre-pandemic levels.
In February of 2020, right before the March shutdown, the unemployment rate sat at 2.9%.
“You can’t go too much lower [than 3.5%],” said Grady. “You do want [the unemployment rate] to be somewhat higher than zero because you want people to be able to move from one job to another one that either pays more or fits their life better.”
According to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, there is a 0.9:1 ratio of unemployed South Carolinians to job openings in the state.
“There are far more job openings in South Carolina and nationally than I believe at any time on record,” Grady said.
