Strong Labor Market Puts JOLT into South Carolina Economy

State’s employers reported 111,000 new hires in May

Columbia, S.C. – On Wednesday, July 26, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released new state-level Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data for May 2023. The report indicated modest increases in job openings, hires, and quits during that month, with layoffs near historically low levels. This suggests that South Carolina businesses are confident about the future and that workers can find new employment opportunities that better meet their needs.

Note: Numbers are seasonally adjusted.

“While a dynamic labor market was a sign of inflation fears in 2021 and 2022, the fact that the labor market is still dynamic, even as price increases fall close to the Federal Reserve’s two percent annual target, suggests that a recession is far from inevitable, if not unlikely, which would be great news all around,” said Dr. Bryan Grady, Assistant Executive Director for Labor Market Information (LMI) at the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW).

“Over 178,000 job openings only further confirm that South Carolina has a booming market that welcomes more jobseekers,” stated DEW Executive Director William Floyd. “Layoffs across the nation have made headlines this year, but our state’s layoff rate has remained low and steady, and we have more than enough available positions to help those individuals find their next job. We encourage employers wanting support in hiring their next employees to contact our Employment Services teams available in SC Works Centers across the state. At the same time, jobseekers can visit these centers in person or virtually to take advantage of our workforce development services.”

Please email communications@dew.sc.gov with 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 and includes links to our monthly Trends newsletter and many other resources.