SC unemployment drops for 8th straight month

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s unemployment rate has hit its lowest mark in more than three years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that the state’s jobless rate in March fell to 8.9 percent. That figure marked the eighth straight monthly decline for South Carolina unemployment, which has often been among the highest in the nation during the past several years. In December 2008, state unemployment hit 8.8 percent. It has since fluctuated, reaching a record high 12.5 percent in January 2010. But the state’s jobless number has drifted downward since August, when it crested again at 11.1 percent. Gov. Nikki Haley planned to talk about state unemployment in Irmo later Friday. (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)