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Unemployment

Unemployment provides an insight into the health of the labor market. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, unemployment rate is one of the most important economic indicators to measure the share of workers in the labor force who do not currently have a job but are actively looking for work. The overall unemployment rates in the region had declined between 2013 and 2022, but high than the state’s unemployment rates. During the same period, Colleton and Hampton Counties had unemployment rates higher than the rest of the region and the state until 2018. Since then, the unemployment rates have fluctuated.

Data Notes
Definition	Unemployment: The number of people who have lost jobs including people who have quit their jobs to look for other employment, workers whose temporary jobs have ended, individuals looking for their first job, and experienced workers looking for jobs after an absence from the labor force in the prior 4 weeks and are currently available for work. Unemployment Rate – The number of unemployed people as a percentage of the civilian labor force, restricted to people 16 years of age and older. Unemployment Rate: The number of unemployed people as a percentage of the civilian labor force, restricted to people 16 years of age and older. Census Block Group: A statistical subdivision of a census tract, generally defined to contain between 600 and 3,000 people and 240 and 1,200 housing units, and the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates sample data.
Data Source	S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, SC Works – Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), U.S. Census Bureau, Decennial Census and American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
Last Updated	April 2024