South Carolina’s underemployment rate – a broader measure of joblessness that includes involuntary part-time workers and people who have given up looking for work – climbed to 18.4 percent during the most recent reporting period.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – which releases state-level underemployment data on a quarterly basis - that’s the sixth-highest rate in the nation. Three months ago, South Carolina’s 18.3 percent underemployment rate ranked eighth-highest in the nation.
Last week, the addition of nearly 10,000 seasonal government jobs prevented yet another spike in the Palmetto state’s unemployment rate – which at 11 percent is the fourth-highest rate in the nation.
The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, while the national underemployment rate is 16.5 percent.
S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley has made job creation her top priority – although it remains to be seen whether her decision to ramp up the state’s command economic approach (i.e. stroking checks to big corporations) will have a positive impact.
It may lead to some large job announcements, but in the long run we believe that this government-first model – which runs counter to the Tea Party rhetoric Haley campaigned on – will continue shifting a growing tax burden onto small businesses, which are responsible for 95 percent of new jobs created in the Palmetto State.
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By Hmmmm..... October 31, 2011 at 11:57 am
Isn’t it the dream of every job seeker to be assimilated into a Fortune 500 company and lose your soul/humanity?
Our Borg Queen probably remembers the days of being a small business women and making not a lot of money but working hard and feeling self sufficient…doesn’t she? Isn’t that what she brings to the collective?
Oh…wait….she actually cooked the books to hide money through a shell company that helped spread around money from the real cash cow…people giving money for temples/religion to Daddy.
I keeedd….
By Joseph Reynolds October 31, 2011 at 1:24 pm
can you show where these 10,000 jobs are coming from? I dont actually see any source listed, just implication that they exist. Of course, they must be something that has never happened before, based on the breathless way you reported it.
Also, why are you suddenly so fascinated with such things as “underemployment”?? For years, that was the province of democrats and liberals to use, so why do you suddenly care if a 72 year old who is retired because he wants to be is only working part time for some spare change? Thats a large portion of the demographic..people who WANT to work part time. Remember?
If you dont agree, thats rather telling isnt it, since i certainly dont recall hearing you state as such when you were in a position to do so and to actually influence poslicy.
By Hmmmm..... October 31, 2011 at 1:43 pm
“Thats a large portion of the demographic..people who WANT to work part time. Remember?”
Yea, but that’s not U6, which Will is quoting btw.
The primary qualification for U6 under gov’t standard IS THE DESIRE FOR FULL TIME EMPLOYEMENT.
Just an “fyi”.
I’m just glad Will at least does U6…if you really wanna know what unemployment is you can mosey over to shadowstats.com(a former gov’t #’s analyst) and see that actual unemployment is almost 24%.
By eggaday October 31, 2011 at 2:42 pm
THIRD
WORLD
COUNTRY
By John Steinberger October 31, 2011 at 5:49 pm
The South Carolina FairTax Act (H-3993/S-274) is the solution. Job Creators seek the path of least resistance – states like Texas and Florida with no income tax.
By Sims October 31, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Queen Haley told the Heritage Foundation, in a speech a few weeks back, that she has announced 15,000 jobs since taking office.
No honorable person could make such a claim as they would know it is reasonable for people to assume that 15000 jobs would actually appear in, and in a reasonable time. Of course we know that is not the case.
Some jobs will come along in a year, or two, or perhaps three. Some may even come in year 4 or 5. But many will never appear.
So, perhaps, in the year 2017, a portion of these jobs may come along. Little comfort can be derived from these announcements as we have 11.1% unemployment rate.
By Sheila October 31, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Don’t count the Amazon jobs bc Haley was against them coming to the midlands in favor of the high paying Walmart jobs. Yeah, right!