New Numbers Show South Carolina Labor Market Continues to Run Hot

South Carolina businesses hired 108,000 people in November 2022

Columbia, S.C. – On January 20, 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released new state-level Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for November 2022. The data findings show that the state’s workforce continues to be dynamic across the board. There were 175,000 job openings in November, up slightly from October’s 169,000 statistic. Businesses hired 12,000 more people in November than in the prior month. Meanwhile, quits and layoffs remained stable with far more people voluntarily leaving work than having been made redundant.

“Despite the pessimism out there, our state’s businesses and workers are thriving,” said Dr. Bryan Grady, Labor Market Information (LMI) Director at the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). “We see that companies are still eager to bring in talent and workers can find jobs that meet their needs. We also will be reviewing results from the first ever Palmetto Business Barometer Survey to learn more about what our state’s corporate leaders are thinking about their prospects.”

“Hire rates continue to outpace quit rates across the state,” stated S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey. “Businesses are eager to connect with the right candidates and we strongly encourage both employers and jobseekers to seek out hiring assistance through SC Works. While our agency and the SC Chamber of Commerce will go over the results of the Palmetto Business Barometer Survey, our agency will also be hosting a series of Labor Force Participation Task Force briefings in the upcoming weeks that go over important research findings about the state’s labor force participation rate.”

To learn more about the Task Force briefings and how to attend a session, please visit dew.sc.gov/lfptfbriefing. Please email communications@dew.sc.gov with any press inquiries or interview requests for the LMI Division. DEW also has an agency dashboard that provides easily accessible economic and workforce data, and the LMI website at scworkforceinfo.com has been updated to improve the user experience. DEW offers a monthly publication, Trends, which provides additional LMI information, as well.