Employment and Workforce Executive Director William Floyd’s Statement

October 2023 Employment Situation

Columbia, S.C. – “Positive trends continue in South Carolina as the state’s unemployment rate for October remains low, 2.9%, a full percentage point lower than the national rate of 3.9%,” said S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) Executive Director William Floyd. “Additionally, total employment grew again, to a new record of 2,393,128 individuals working in South Carolina.”

“Nearly every economic sector grew or stayed the same month-over-month, with increases in sectors like Finance and Insurance, as well as Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (which includes jobs like computer systems design, engineering, and research and development),” continued Floyd. “Digging deeper into these sectors and understanding the jobs in the different industries is key to being able to appropriately support the workforce. Earlier this month, we announced an enhancement in our employer tax system, SUITS, through which businesses will specify the occupations comprising their workforce. Enhancing insight into the employers’ occupations will help fine-tune workforce development on a regional and state-wide basis and, in the long-term, better match the needs of employers and jobseekers.”

“One of South Carolina’s most reliable sources of workers is our veterans. More than 175,000 veterans are employed in the state, with approximately 83.6% of veterans aged 18 to 34 in the labor force, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022 estimates,” said Floyd. “Workforce specialists at DEW, many of whom are veterans, daily connect veterans and other jobseekers with employment opportunities. During November we are spotlighting the importance of veterans to our state as well as to DEW. Our veterans are one reason why South Carolina is a great place to live and work.”

“If you are a veteran, or any jobseeker, and would like to find out more about thousands of available job opportunities, connect (in person or virtually) with a local SC Works center,” concluded Floyd.