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South Carolina’s historic struggle to gainfully employ its citizens continued into the new year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
According to the first state-level employment report of 2025 (.pdf), South Carolina and Alabama tied for the third-worst labor participation rate in America at 57.6%. That number was down 0.1% from December’s reading – which was seasonally adjusted to 57.7%.
Only Mississippi (55.9%) and West Virginia (54.5%) fared worse than South Carolina on this key indicator, and based on the aforementioned adjustments January’s number was the Palmetto State’s weakest on record since January of 2023.
Nationally, labor participation stood at 62.6% in January, meaning the Palmetto state was a full five percentage points behind the curve.
Visually inclined? Our intrepid research director Jenn Wood has you covered…
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Every year, BLS officials “reestimate” these numbers going back at least four years based on updated population information. According to the methodology for these adjustments, the goal of these reestimates is to weed out “periodic fluctuations,” and to make it “easier for users to observe fundamental changes.”
Employment data for February 2025 – the first month of the second term of U.S. president Donald Trump – is scheduled to be released this Thursday (March 20, 2025).
For those of you new to FITSNews, we focus extensively on labor participation because it is the most accurate indicator of a state’s employment situation. Labor participation tracks the percentage of a state’s population that is either gainfully employed or actively searching for 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 much better indicator of sustained job creation – or in South Carolina’s case, the lack thereof.
Unemployment, for those of you following that metric, declined 0.1% in January from 4.4% to 4.3%.
While seasonal adjustments will move these numbers modestly at the margins, the underlying reality remains. South Carolina trails its national and regional peers on this critical indicator – badly. The Palmetto State even ranks well below other states with larger-than-average retiree populations – negating an argument for these poor labor participation numbers frequently made by apologists for the status quo.
So-called “Republican” supermajorities like to brag about being “conservative” and “pro-business,” but their policies are anything but. Just this year, in fact, we’ve seen the extent to which left-of-center special interests have once again driven the debate at the S.C. State House in an anti-competitive direction.
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Meanwhile, we’ve failed to see GOP leaders live up to their promises on tax relief and universal school choice, among other ostensible priorities. Sadly, their loyalty would appear to remain fixed on runaway bureaucracy and special interest giveaways.
Labor participation in South Carolina began dipping from its peak of 68.5% right around the time the GOP takeover of state government began in the mid-1990s. Labor participation has not eclipsed the key 60% threshold 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%.
So much for Haley claiming to be South Carolina’s “jobs governor.”
For those of you keeping score at home, an estimated 2,549,034 (-619) South Carolinians were part of the workforce during January – including 2,439,684 (+2,668) who were gainfully employed and 109,358 (-3,287)who were unemployed but actively looking for work.
As always, count on FITSNews to bring our audiences the economic data that matters… and to hold those responsible for the anemic outcomes accountable.
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THE REPORT…
(BLS)
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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 eight children.
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