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With South Carolina lawmakers still swinging and missing when it comes to providing meaningful tax relief, it should come as no surprise to learn the Palmetto State is still moving in the wrong direction on a critical employment indicator.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted labor participation rate slipped 0.1% last month from 57.6% to 57.5%. As has been the case for most of the past few years, only two states fared worse during March – Mississippi (56.1%) and West Virginia (54.3%).
Nationally, labor participation inched up by 0.1% – from 62.4% to 62.5% – during March.
Visually inclined? Our intrepidly amazing research director Jenn Wood has you covered…
As you can see, labor participation in South Carolina is now at its lowest point since December 2022 – and is just 0.2% higher than record lows recorded between August and October 2022.
Why do we focus so intently on this particular employment indicator? For those of you new to FITSNews, we believe labor participation is the most accurate indicator of a state’s true 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.
For those of you following the unemployment rate, it edged down last month by 0.1% – from 4.2% to 4.1%.
The latest dip in the relative size of South Carolina’s workforce comes as state lawmakers – who wield near-unlimited power over an ever-expanding bureaucratic complex – have failed to deliver on their promise to provide long-overdue tax relief to citizens. What was supposed to be the top priority of the 2025 legislative session has devolved into an absolute clusterfuck – one which could cost powerful S.C. House speaker Murrell Smith his job.
There’s also been anemic “leadership” on this issue from status quo governor Henry McMaster.
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RELATED | S.C. EIGHTH-WORST NATIONALLY FOR SENIOR WORKERS
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While politicians stall and obfuscate on this issue, we continue to hear that the historic decline in labor participation is attributable exclusively to our aging population. In fact, in December 2022 – the last time the rate was this low – the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) commissioned a report which purported to explain away the issue.
“Between 1994 and 2019, the share of our state’s population age 65 or older nearly doubled,” agency economist Erica Von Nessen stated. “This fact alone explains most of the decline in South Carolina’s labor force participation rate in that time.”
It doesn’t, though. At all. As FITSNews has repeatedly pointed out, all but one of the twelve states with larger senior populations than South Carolina boast higher labor participation rates. Also, our Mark Powell reported just last week that the Palmetto State is an absolutely terrible place for seniors looking to find work.
As much as the government spin doctors would have you believe otherwise, chronic workforce struggles in South Carolina are attributable to the fact ruling “Republicans” have been growing government faster than taxpayers can afford ever since they seized control of power.
Labor participation in South Carolina began falling from its peak of 68.5% right around the time the GOP takeover of state government began in the mid-1990s. It has not eclipsed the key 60% demarcation line since May 2012, former governor Nikki Haley’s second full year in office.
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THE DATA…
(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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