S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Announces

Revamped Data Dashboard and Labor Market Information Website

Columbia, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) has launched its revamped Data Dashboard and Labor Market Information (LMI) website today, November 3, 2022. Together, these new offerings are designed to improve access to workforce data for casual viewers and power users alike, making use of newer, more engaging technologies and making information easier to find.

This revamped Data Dashboard utilizes Tableau, a data visualization software platform, that allows graphs and data sets to be interactive, sortable, and downloadable. The Dashboard will now not only feature initial and continued unemployment insurance claims, but also employment and labor force statistics by geography and industry, quit and hire rates from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)  published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the monthly balance of the South Carolina Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

The refreshed LMI website, available at scworkforceinfo.com, better leverages the existing platform to reduce the number of clicks to access the data and analysis produced by the LMI Division. The left side of the page is a news feed that provides updates on the newest content while the right side features a series of icons that offer direct access to specific products. The website provides brand new explanations written to distill complex economic concepts and definitions into plain and concise language throughout its pages.

“Labor market information isn’t necessarily the simplest thing to wrap your head around, so I’ve been committed from day one to making our data more accessible and easier to understand. These two new products contribute greatly to that,” stated LMI Director Dr. Bryan Grady at the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. “The Data Dashboard is designed to be an interactive, highly customizable way to engage with frequently updated information about labor market conditions. Gerald Byrne, our Data Visualization Analyst, has developed all of these datasets on Tableau. I know all of our Dashboard visitors will be as impressed with his work as we are, and I am excited to see what other great work he will keep on producing on behalf of the agency. The scworkforceinfo.com platform has also been rebuilt to better connect users with our Workforce Information Database and economic analysis produced by LMI. We want to be South Carolina’s one-stop shop for data about the workers that make South Carolina prosper, and today marks a major step in meeting that goal.”

“Dr. Bryan Grady, Gerald Byrne, and the rest of our talented Labor Market Information Division did an exceptional job in translating complex employment and unemployment statistics into straightforward and coherent content,” said S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey. “Our agency’s Data Dashboard is visited by the public, members of the press, businesses, government agencies, legislators, and countless others, and our LMI website is a resource for diving deeper into these topics that we want more people to engage with. Whether you are a subject matter expert or a novice, you will be able to use these products to gain insights into our state’s labor force and economy.”

The Data Dashboard is available here and instructions on how to navigate the revamped Dashboard are attached to this press release. A LMI Insights webinar hosted by the LMI Division introducing the revamped Data Dashboard to the public occurred on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. A recording of the live webinar is available to view here. Another webinar will be held Wednesday, November 30, 2022, that will provide an overview of the new scworkforceinfo.com website.

For more information, please contact communications@dew.sc.gov with any press inquiries or interview requests. DEW also offers a monthly publication, Trends, which provides additional LMI data. Anyone interested in joining the Trends or LMI Insights webinar email lists can do so by emailing communications@dew.sc.gov. For help using the dashboard and website, or for other questions about the available data, please contact lmicustomerservice@dew.sc.gov.