Biggest unemployment drop in SC in more than 30 years

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) _ The unemployment rate in South Carolina saw its largest one-month decline in more than 30 years during August. The Department of Employment and Workforce reported Friday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 6.4 percent in July to 6 percent in August. It was the third straight month that unemployment has dropped and was the largest one-month decline since 1983. The department reports that an additional 2,700 people were employed in August. Total employment was almost 2,115,000. During the past year, the state’s labor force has grown by almost 52,000 workers. While August proved good news for the state’s employment picture, the state’s unemployment rate was still higher than the national jobless rate of 5.1 percent.