Columbia, South Carolina (WIS) – New data released on Friday Nearly half of eligible South Carolinians of working age are either unemployed or actively looking for work.
That’s because there are over 100,000 jobs open throughout South Carolina, while the state’s unemployment rate remains historically low at 3.3{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}.
statewide task force is trying to determine why there is a discrepancy between these numbers. Its members recently received the results of an extensive study that reveals what drives it.
“This is an issue of great concern, and we need to engage more people to find ways to address it.” task force member said the director of labor market information for the South Carolina Department of Employment and Labor.
The task force has commissioned an investigation It focuses on people who were employed in South Carolina in 2019, filed for unemployment in 2020, and were subsequently not included in the Department of Labor’s wage data in 2021.
More than a quarter of the approximately 6,000 respondents said they were not currently working but could work.
The group then elaborated on the barriers that keep them from finding employment.
The most frequent reasons cited across races, genders and age groups were low-paying jobs, employment history gaps, unavailability of optimal working hours, lack of transportation and disability.
Women also cited lack of parenting and the need to be with their children as the main reason, but more men said their criminal record was holding them back.
Four responses received by far the most support for what would motivate them to return to work. Flexible hours (44{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}).
The next two highest-named factors only garnered single-digit support. A decrease in current income (6{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}) and a loss of current benefits (4{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}).
Grady said the full findings of the study are important to guide the task force’s work and recommendations.
“And we were like, ‘OK, this is what’s going on in South Carolina. What are we going to do about it?’ , the fifth lowest in the United States,” he said.
That percentage is now about 56{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}, according to new data, meaning just over half of South Carolinians of working age and eligible are either employed or actively looking for work. The current national labor force participation rate is about 62{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c}.
“A one percent increase in the labor force participation rate would increase wages in South Carolina by more than $1.1 billion annually,” said SCDEW Director Dan Elsey.
The Task Force will hold briefings in January and February to analyze these findings.
Grady said he hopes to involve a wide range of people from both the public and private sectors as they move into the policy development and advocacy phases of their work.
These recommendations may involve the private sector, other state agencies, local governments, and state legislatures.
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