COLUMBIA --- Aiken County had the ninth-lowest unemployment rate in the state last month, even as neighboring counties helped push the state's jobless rate well past the nation's five-year record.
Though still relatively low at 7 percent, Aiken County suffered a nearly 1 percent increase in unemployment in August, according to data released Friday by the state Employment Security Commission.
The state's unemployment rate for August was 7.6 percent, more than a point above the country's rate of 6.1 percent, according to the commission.
Counties with a heavy reliance on manufacturing jobs were the hardest hit, said Sam McClary, a labor market analyst for the commission.
"Aiken is a more diverse economy," he said. "You've got a mix of services."
The increase in claims is depleting the state's trust fund, warned the commission's executive director, Roosevelt Halley. The trust fund is made up of taxes paid by the state's employers, based on their number of employees.
If the trust fund is emptied, the federal government loans states money. South Carolina is currently paying out about $10 million a week in unemployment insurance benefits.
"I'd hope that when school starts back in the fall, the rate will begin to taper off," Mr. McClary said.
Though manufacturing jobs saw a notable dip this month, the state lost 1,000 construction jobs in August.
"In construction ... it seems to get worse and worse," Mr. McClary said. "Every day you read more about home foreclosures, and that has a domino effect."
Reach Sarita Chourey at (803) 727-4257 or sarita.chourey@morris.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
