Jobless lines get longer

South Carolina's unemployment rate hit another record high in January as the level of jobless residents rose in all 46 counties.

Employers cut 27,700 positions throughout the month, including seasonal jobs in tourism and retail, as the jobless rate reached 12.6 percent, the state Employment Security Commission said Wednesday.

South Carolina's unemployed population -- a total of 273,455 residents -- is the biggest on record.

Compare that number with the data recorded several years ago and a grim picture emerges. That figure, for example, never topped 100,000 people in 2000. Throughout 2005, the number averaged 140,000.

"It gives us a sense of how many jobs the economy needs to create in order

to put a majority of people back to work," said economist Don Schunk of Coastal Carolina University. "More so than the unemployment rate, (that number) tells us how far we have to go before we return to some sense of normalcy."

The preliminary January rate eclipsed the previous record set in December. That number originally came in at 12.6 percent, but it was revised downward to 12.4 percent last week, based on more current information.

Schunk said the gradual climb in unemployment shows that South Carolina's economy is still losing jobs, but at a slower pace, a shift from when employers began to slash payrolls in late 2008, following the spread of the global financial crisis.

"The era of large layoffs is behind us but we're not yet ... hiring workers either," he said.

Last month's job losses didn't affect all industries evenly.

Retailers cut 7,700 positions, including temporary hires, after the holiday sales season. The number of tourism jobs fell by 4,800, while construction jobs shrank by 1,700.

The state's ailing real estate market has troubled Adam McLean of North Charleston for several years.

A 34-year-old handyman who's fluent in Spanish, he painted homes and offices throughout the region without struggling to find work, until the industry slowed three years ago.

Now, even managers at paint stores, a good source of job leads, can't point him in the direction of work.

"I'm pretty versatile. I'm not too proud to do anything," he said. "I just want to work so bad."

The Charleston metro area's unemployment rate rose from 10.3 percent in December to 10.8 percent in January. A year ago it was 8.7 percent.

Allendale and Marion counties tied for the state's worst jobless rate, 24.3 percent. Only two counties, Lexington and Beaufort, reported single-digit rates.

Though the national unemployment rate dipped to 9.7 percent in January, the rate rose in 30 states. South Carolina's unemployment rate ranked fourth behind Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island.

Also, South Carolina joined four other states -- California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina -- in setting or tying all-time-high jobless rates.

Gloomy figures

January's unemployment figures paint a grim picture:

Region Jan. 2010 Dec. '09 Jan. '09

Charleston County 10.6% 9.9% 8%

Berkeley County 11.3% 10.9% 9.5%

Dorchester County 10.9% 10.3% 9.3%

Charleston metro 10.8% 10.3% 8.7%

Columbia metro 10.5% 10% 8.5%

Greenville metro 11.6% 11% 9.3%

South Carolina 12.6% 12.4% 10%

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.