South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped from a revised rate of 10.9 percent in September to 10.5 percent in October, according to data released on Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
For the second straight month, though, new government jobs were the main driver of the Palmetto State’s modest jobless rate reduction – with government entities adding 3,500 positions from the previous month. Also pushing the rate down? More people giving up their search for work.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s underemployment rate – a broader, more accurate measure of joblessness that’s published quarterly – stands at 18.4 percent. Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped from 9.1 to 9.0 percent in October, while the underemployment rate fell from 16.5 to 16.2 percent.
Oddly enough, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) attributed the modest decline to largesse received from the federal government.
“South Carolina recently received roughly $20 million in workforce development grants from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education to be used for retraining unemployed citizens in emerging industries, such as industrial maintenance and manufacturing, engineering, and transportation,” said Abraham Turner, the department’s executive director. “I am confident that with this training we can expect to see a continued decrease in our state’s unemployment rate.”
Wow … talk about being “off message.”
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.
Earlier in her administration, Haley ill-advisedly rushed to take ownership of modest declines in the Palmetto state’s jobless rate. In April, she held a press conference taking credit for the fact that the state’s unemployment rate had dipped below 10 percent for the first time in more than two years. In fact, she specifically prevented her cabinet agency from releasing the information at the appointed time so that she could make the announcement at her media event.
“We are at 9.9 percent,” Haley said at the time. “That is an absolute reason to celebrate and I will tell you that doesn’t happen by accident. I am on the phone every single day with companies – and I will tell you companies want to come.”
In May, when the rate dropped to 9.8 percent, Haley touted the news as “another reason to celebrate what’s happening in South Carolina.”
Haley also publicly bragged about the number of new jobs she was creating – although it was later revealed that she was using manipulated jobs data in an attempt to pad her numbers. Of course Haley has also been caught fibbing about a much less flattering claim – her since-retracted statement that half of recent South Carolina job applicants to a federal facility were high and the other half illiterate.
South Carolina’s unemployment rate crossed the 10 percent threshold back in February of 2009 – and stayed there for 25 consecutive months. After a brief dip below that psychological barrier earlier this year, this widely-watched economic indicator climbed back above ten percent again six months ago.
The Palmetto state’s dismal economic performance comes after state government has received $4.25 billion in so-called “stimulus” funds over the last three years. It also comes on the heels of a pair of record-setting state budgets (here and here).
OCTOBER 2011 UNEMPLOYMENT REPORT (.pdf)
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By Gillon November 22, 2011 at 1:01 pm
I thought that the prevailing Republican wisdom was that “government does not create jobs.” Yet here we have
3,500 South Carolinians working for the state who last month were unemployed, but now have a means to make a living. Go figure.
By Mikey C. Haley November 22, 2011 at 2:11 pm
Nikki will be glad to know that the majority of the jobs that her drug company buddies are creating in Lexington county are negated by the fiberglass manufacturer in Winnsboro that is going out of business.
By cash November 22, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Nephron has been registered to do business in SC since 2008.
By funny November 22, 2011 at 3:09 pm
“I thought that the prevailing Republican wisdom was that “government does not create jobs.”
At least you qualified your statement. From a purely more conservative/libertarian nuanced perspective the actual issue is not, “Can gov’t create jobs” but instead what it takes to do it.
For instance, if you raise taxes on companies in the private sector and you probabloy over time kill more jobs in the private sector because of the increased tax burden on private industry to carry the gov’t overhead. This is a state gov’t example of course.
Using a Federal example, one might simply debauch the currency and tax everyone(without a vote) via inflation and also create various bubbles/misallocations(like housing or Solyndra/green jobs) and what not to provide the short term gov’t job growth while creating long term liability in terms of overhead and private industry growth by “abnormal” asset allocation.
So in answer to your question, the issue is not “can gov’t create jobs”, it’s “what are the costs associated with doing so and can the underlying economics support them long term”.
By BradWarthenSucks November 22, 2011 at 3:14 pm
The 0.4 drop is due to the fact that 14 people joined the Occupy Columbia movement.
By funny November 22, 2011 at 3:15 pm
oh btw, economic policy journal/Bob Wenzel predicted a drop in unemployment(which has confused the Keyenesians) several months ago and is actually calling for a short term boom once again due to all the quantitative easing.
What no one knows however is whether the end result might be high or hyper inflation with the possiblity of a “crack up boom” as defined by Mises.
Personally, the question to me is not “if” a crack up boom is going to happen, but when.
Regardless, carry on.
By Gillon November 22, 2011 at 5:11 pm
By funny. Thanks for your detailed response and your thoughts. My comment simply was a response to the hackneyed cliche of many Republicans that “Government does not create jobs, private business does.” And of course, somebody has to pay the piper, in the short or long run. But It is certainly not true to say that private business does not benefit from government expenditures as a result of the taxes they pay (which are really nothing more than a cost of doing business and can be passed on to the consumer) Think of an educated work force, roads and infrastructure, public safety, etc.–all provided to a great extent by gov’t expenditures through tax money. But we shouldn’t really worry too much about all of this, “crack up boom” or whatever. Enjoy today, for in the words of John Maynard Keynes, “In the long run we are all dead.”. So it goes…
By funny November 22, 2011 at 7:49 pm
“But It is certainly not true to say that private business does not benefit from government expenditures as a result of the taxes they pay (which are really nothing more than a cost of doing business and can be passed on to the consumer) Think of an educated work force, roads and infrastructure, public safety, etc.–all provided to a great extent by gov’t expenditures through tax money.”
Obviously, I never said “private business does not benefit”…of course the question is always do the benefits outweigh the cost? Is the balance justified?
Of course, I’m sure you realize that “roads, infrastructure, public safety, etc.” have all been provided by the private sector going back at least 100 years ago in some cases or more in others. Again, I default to the common theme that yes, gov’t can do “anything”…but the question remains, is it an effective model versus privatization. Some will demagouge the issue and villify the idea of privatization in society, but the ongoing failures in gov’t on both state and federal levels is an obvious problem for statism/statists.
By Talbot November 22, 2011 at 8:22 pm
I’m so sick of our government officials that I could puke. SC needs to clear out the governor’s office and the cabinet agencies. I will never vote for another incumbent for elected office.
By No Pledge. November 22, 2011 at 8:50 pm
Ten percent-ish unemployment is reasonable to expect for a decade at least.
How dare anyone expect a rapid recovery and for what conceivable reason under what fantasy circumstances?
People with an actual track record of success are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in South Carolina. Give it another ten years. Yes, really.
By The Joker November 23, 2011 at 10:03 am
“Ten percent-ish unemployment is reasonable to expect for a decade at least.”
Maybe….but there is a question of whether we have really have just 10% unemployment….my every day business travels suggest it’s much higher.
Under gov’t U6 it’s already between 16-18%…and according to shadowstats(former gov’t bean counter) the real rate is over 22%…which sounds quite plausible to me considering my personal interaction with those around me.
I think the most amazing thing as I travel around the Columbia and it’s suburbs are the number of commercial real estate properties that have been repossesed or have “for rent/sale” signs on them…
The economy looks disasterous from that perspective.
Yes, we have some nice business coming in as of late…but the reality on the ground is that we won’t see the economic impact as you mention for quite some time….a decade of 22% unemployment is pretty brutal. (assuming the financial system remains intact….a big assumption)
Btw, if this recruiting is as a result of Hitt, my hat is off to him…even if he is a big mouth.