SC set to release June unemployment numbers

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina officials are scheduled to announce the state’s latest unemployment figures.

The state Department of Employment and Workforce on Friday is expected to release South Carolina’s jobless numbers for June.

South Carolina’s jobless numbers have consistently outpaced the national rate, which was 9.2 percent in June.

In May, the state reversed a four-month downward trend, with unemployment rising slightly to 10 percent.

Officials called the increase typical for the time of year, as new college and high school graduates enter the labor pool and more people look for seasonal, tourism-related work. South Carolina’s unemployment rate had decreased steadily from a peak of 12.5 percent in January 2010.