Analysis of South Carolina Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Data - December 2023

By Taylor Hendrix, Workforce Insights Analyst

National Results

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released their Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) results at the statewide level for December 2023. Overall, little to no changes in job openings, hires, and total separations occurred in most states for the month, continuing a trend from the prior month. The number of job openings decreased in seven states, increased in four states, and was flat in DC and the remaining 39 states; the number of hires increased in four states, decreased in one state, and was flat in DC and the remaining 45 states; and the number of total Separations decreased in five states, increased in two states, and was flat in DC and the remaining 43 states.

For full details of other states, readers can visit here. Let’s look at the South Carolina JOLTS data results.

South Carolina Data Breakdown

Month-over-Month Comparison: November to December 2023

The state has seen increases in all the numbers for Job Openings, Hires, and Separations from November to December 2023. For overall tallies month-over-month, Job Openings increased by 4,000, Hires rose by 9,000, and Separations increased by 18,000. Within Separations, Quits were up by 8,000 and Layoffs/Discharges were up by 10,000.

Year-over-Year Comparison: December 2022 to December 2023

All measures showed a decrease over the year. Within Separations, however, Layoffs/Discharges increased by 6,000 or 0.2 percentage points. Job Openings saw a 0.9 percentage point decrease over that time frame, Hires saw a 1.0 percentage point decrease, and Separations saw a 0.7 percentage point decrease.

LMI maintains its assessment from the prior month that the state’s steady JOLTS data, along with South Carolina’s low unemployment rate and record number of people working, are evidence of a strong economy. Businesses are continuing to hire and retain workers and individuals have employment choices and security.

[1] Rates are a calculation of each parameter as a percent of the state’s total employment, thereby allowing a “big picture” context for the raw changes.