Employment and Workforce Acting Executive Director William Floyd’s Statement
February 2023 Employment Situation

Columbia, S.C. – “The first quarter of 2023 continues on a steady course. The unemployment rate holds at 3.2%, the same as January’s rate, the number of people working has bounced back up to 2,306,083, just a few individuals shy of that state’s all-time high of 2,306,087 in June of 2022, and the number of payroll jobs reported by employers is at a record high of 2,278,100,” said S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) Acting Executive Director William Floyd.

“In addition, the labor force participation rate ticked up slightly to 55.9% with 2,382,172 people in the labor force, a high for South Carolina,” continued Floyd. “This is the trend we would like to see continue to climb. As announced early this week, Scout Motors expects to bring 4,000 jobs to the Midlands, and every day there are announcements of other new businesses coming to the state bringing great jobs and careers with them. South Carolina has the educational infrastructure, including excellent technical colleges, to prepare the workforce, which DEW and SC Works connect with South Carolina businesses.”

“As South Carolina continues to boom with business and opportunity, this is a perfect time for all jobseekers to find the right job to help themselves and their families,“ concluded Floyd.