COLUMBIA --- A month after state unemployment reached a 15-year high, South Carolina's jobless rate dropped slightly in September, but the reason for the drop wasn't good news.
South Carolina's jobless rate for September was 7.3 percent, compared with 7.6 the month before. In its analysis of unemployment, South Carolina's Employment Security Commission on Tuesday attributed the lower rate not to an improving economy but to the unemployed halting their job searches.
"There's very little positive news regarding the national or state economy right now," Executive Director Ted Halley said in a release.
At 1.95 million jobs, nonagricultural employment was down in September by 12,900 from a year ago and a decrease of 14,400 jobs from August, the largest September decrease on record.
Even though the number of jobs fell, the unemployment rate also declined because fewer people were registered as looking for work.
All major sectors lost jobs in September except education and health services, which together added 7,000 positions the Commission attributed to state and private schools restaffing for the fall semester.
The biggest slide was in hospitality, which posted a seasonal loss of 11,100 jobs as the state tourist season wound down. Other significant losses were in retail trade (3,300 jobs), manufacturing (2,300 jobs) and business services (1,300 jobs).
For the 11th month in a row, the construction industry posted losses, down 17,800 jobs from September a year ago.
Allendale County's 16.9 percent jobless rate was the state's highest. Beaufort and Lexington counties had the state's lowest jobless rates, at 5.3 percent.
South Carolina's unemployment picture is unlikely to get rosier anytime soon. The effects of turmoil in national financial markets won't be reflected until jobless numbers for October and November unemployment are released, Mr. Halley said.
Nationally, unemployment held steady in September from August at 6.1 percent, up from 4.7 percent a year earlier. As in August, South Carolina's rate was lower than just four states: Rhode Island (8.8 percent), Michigan (8.7 percent), Mississippi (7.8 percent) and California (7.7 percent).
Nevada also posted a rate of 7.3 percent.
BY THE NUMBERS
County unemployment figures from the South Carolina Employment Security Commission do not include the seasonal adjustments used to calculate the statewide unemployment rate. All unemployment numbers are percentages.
| RANK | COUNTY | SEPT. | AUG. | CHANGE |
| 1 | Allendale | 16.9 | 17.0 | -0.1 |
| 3 | Bamberg | 13.6 | 13.7 | -0.1 |
| 5 | Barnwell | 12.7 | 12.4 | 0.3 |
| 12 | McCormick | 10.9 | 12.1 | -1.2 |
| 22 | Abbeville | 8.8 | 9.6 | -0.8 |
| 22 | Sumter | 8.8 | 9.0 | -0.2 |
| 31 | Edgefield | 7.4 | 7.8 | -0.4 |
| 32 | Spartanburg | 7.3 | 8.1 | -0.8 |
| 36 | Richland | 6.7 | 7.3 | -0.6 |
| 40 | Aiken | 6.3 | 6.9 | -0.6 |
| 43 | Greenville | 6.0 | 6.4 | -0.4 |
| 44 | Charleston | 5.7 | 6.1 | -0.4 |
| 45 | Beaufort | 5.3 | 5.8 | -0.5 |
| 45 | Lexington | 5.3 | 5.6 | -0.3 |
-- Associated Press
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