State's jobless rate hits 12.1%

South Carolina's jobless rate jumped to 12.1 percent in October, matching its highest point since the recession began nearly two years ago, as employers cut staff and as out-of-work residents relaunched their job searches.

The number of unemployed residents rose by more than 9,700 during October, according to figures from the state Employment Security Commission.

September's figure was revised upward to 11.7 percent.

South Carolina's rate ranks as the fifth-highest in the country behind Michigan (15.1 percent), Nevada (13 percent), Rhode Island (12.9 percent) and Colorado (12.5 percent), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The number of unemployed residents in the greater Charleston area rose last month to nearly 21,000 people, or 10 percent, up from 9.6 percent in September. Last year, the rate was 6.5 percent.

South Carolina's statewide rate also was at 12.1 percent in May and June, but the measure mellowed slightly because discouraged job applicants gave up their searches. There are about 6.1 unemployed workers, on average, competing for each job opening, a Labor Department report showed earlier this month.

The jobless figures do not include unemployed residents who have stopped looking for work.

But residents are beginning to look for work again as the holiday season approaches, drawn by the promise of temporary employment opportunities and the need to find a way to pay holiday bills.

"I expect that we are now embarking on another string of increases in unemployment as labor force levels remain relatively steady," said Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University. "The recession may be over, but this does not mean we are on a path of sustained recovery."

And commission officials said that October's rate could go higher once the figures are updated based on newer data culled from payroll records.

"If national trends are followed, most states will likely show greater job losses than are currently being reported in the preliminary estimates," the agency said Friday.

The state's overall job count was 60,500 below the year-ago level and nearly 95,000 below the December 2007 level, when the current recession began.

South Carolina actually gained jobs from the prior month. According to current data, gains in several sectors -- including professional and business services (+4,600), government (+3,500) and retail trade (+2,300) -- were partly offset last month by declines in leisure and hospitality (-5,600), manufacturing (-1,600) and construction (-1,300).

"Going forward, our state faces significant challenges as it tries to replace the large number of jobs lost due to the recession that began in December of 2007," said Sam Foster, interim executive director of the commission.

Last month, state legislators returned to Columbia to pass a bill extending jobless benefits to about 15,000 workers who had begun running out of weekly state and federal help. The technical change links extended unemployment benefits to the state's unemployment rate instead of the number of people who are getting benefits, and Gov. Mark Sanford signed the bill into law the next day.

Last spring, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, pushed for the technical law change that would have continued benefits, but her stand-alone bill went nowhere.

The measure, which was tacked to a bill overhauling the commission, was stymied by legislators who didn't want the commission changed until it had been reviewed by the Legislative Audit Council and lawmakers irked by Sanford's opposition to federal stimulus cash.

That council's review is due early next year, but House Majority Leader Kenny Bingham said legislators plan to begin mulling changes before the end of the year.

Warren Wise and The Associated Press contributed to this report.