New Federal Data Show South Carolina Labor Market Continues to Propel Economy

Survey discovered 174,000 job openings statewide in August 2022

Columbia, S.C. – On Wednesday, October 19, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released new state-level Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for August 2022. These figures show that the state’s labor market remains dynamic as it has been throughout much of the economic recovery from the height of the pandemic. Seasonally adjusted data are shown in the below table with month-over-month and year-over-year comparisons included for reference.

“South Carolina still has a very tight job market, with businesses eager to hire workers,” said Dr. Bryan Grady, Labor Market Information (LMI) Director at the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). “Our job opening rate is tied for eighth among the fifty states, and there are more than two job openings for every unemployed South Carolinian.”

“Our hires rate continue to outpace quits rate in the state, which means that the majority of people are moving within the labor force rather than leaving it,” stated S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey. “Knowing that there are over 100,000 jobs available in SC Works Online Services, we will continue to promote these openings to jobseekers as we enhance our efforts to encourage more individuals to join the labor force. The Labor Force Participation Task Force and the Laurens Direct Connect Program are just two ways our agency is working towards understanding why some individuals choose not to work and how we can offer them the motivation and resources to do so.”

For more information, please review the included table or contact communications@dew.sc.gov with any press inquiries or interview requests for the LMI Division. Also, DEW offers a monthly publication, Trends, which provides additional LMI data.