|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
With so-called “Republicans” at the South Carolina State House ready to start air-gunning taxpayer dollars again, it’s worth considering what the GOP majority (er, supermajority) thinks it has accomplished vis-à-vis all this profligacy. With the GOP now in its second decade wielding total control of the Palmetto State, surely all those years of limited government and lower taxes had a materially positive impact on the South Carolina economy, right?
Maybe they would have… had Republicans bothered to do either of those things.
Have they? Hell no.
Instead, they’ve spent like drunken sailors (on perpetually crappy outcomes, no less). They’ve whored themselves out to destructive crony capitalism. And they’ve raised taxes way more than they’ve cut them.
What’s been the fate of the Palmetto State economy over that time? On the jobs front, it was – and is – a disaster.
***
According to the latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), South Carolina’s labor participation rate during the month of October stood at 57.6% – unchanged from the previous month and residing well below the national rate of 62.6%.
For those of you unhip to employment data, labor participation refers to the percentage of a state’s population that’s either gainfully employed – or actively in search of work. Unlike the widely watched unemployment rate – which tracks a segment of workers within the labor force – labor participation tracks the size of the workforce itself. That makes it a far better indicator of sustained job creation – or lack thereof.
South Carolina’s labor participation rate is tied with Alabama and New Mexico for third-worst in the entire nation. Only West Virginia (55%) and Mississippi (54.7%) fared worse on this key indicator last month.
Visually inclined? Our amazingly intrepid research director Jenn Wood has got you covered…
***
***
As for the Palmetto State’s unemployment rate, it climbed yet another 0.2% last month – rising from 4.5% to 4.7%. That puts it at its highest level since December 2020 – and nearly two percentage points above record lows achieved in June and July of last year. South Carolina’s unemployment rate is also now well above the national average of 4.1%.
For those of you keeping score at home, an estimated 2,531,314 (+4,039) South Carolinians were part of the workforce during October – including 2,413,189 (-111) who were gainfully employed and 118,125 (+4,150) who were unemployed but actively looking for work. Short-term unemployment in the state could spike even higher in the coming weeks as the impact of several high-profile large-scale layoffs begins to be felt.
And this is obviously before we address macroeconomic pressures awaiting the incoming administration of Donald Trump.
As I will continue to point out to our audience, labor participation in South Carolina began dipping from its peak of 68.5% – which was well above the national average – right around the time the GOP takeover of state government began in the mid-1990s. Labor participation has not eclipsed the key 60% demarcation line since May 2012, former governor Nikki Haley’s second full year in office. When Haley left office in January 2017, labor participation in the South Carolina had plunged all the way down to 58.2%.
Bottom line? It’s time for “Republicans” in the Palmetto State to start doing things differently… unless of course these economic outcomes are deemed satisfactory by voters fed a perpetual stream of taxpayer-subsidized sunshine pumping.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
