Governor Nikki Haley issued a statement in response to South Carolina’s unemployment rate declining significantly to 6.6 percent in December from 7.1 percent in November. The December drop in unemployment marks four straight months of decline. The 6.6% December unemployment is the lowest since June 2008 and marks the first time South Carolina’s rate has been under the national rate since January 2001. In addition, over two million South Carolinians are now employed, the highest level since January 2008.
The Governor said “Getting our unemployment rate to this nearly 6 year low didn’t happen overnight and didn’t happen by itself – it’s the product of ‘Team South Carolina’ working together to build the kind of business environment that attracts new companies and encourages existing ones to expand.” The Governor added “The fact that more South Carolinians are working today than since 2008 proves we are moving in the right direction.”