By SCBIZ Staff

South Carolina’s unemployment rate was 5.6% in August, the State Employment Security Commission reported Tuesday. This was three-tenths of a percentage point below the July rate of 5.9% and a full percentage point below the year-ago rate of 6.6%.

The number of unemployed dropped nearly 7,700 from the July level, and was down almost 20,000 from last year’s level. The commission attributed the drop to a decline in the number of job losers over the month, as well as a decline in the number of individuals entering the job market.

The number of non-farm jobs in South Carolina rose 22,200 in August, a typical increase for this time of year. All of the increase occurred in the Government sector as state and local schools began re-staffing for the fall term.

Private sector jobs were down 800 over the month as job gains in Professional and Business Services (+2,500) and Education and Health Services (+700) were more than offset by losses in Leisure and Hospitality (-2,200), Manufacturing (-1,000), and Trade, Transportation, & Utilities (-700). Overall, the non-farm job count was 35,000 above the August 2006 level.

Over the next few months, the commission expects the state’s economy to be driven by further increases in education-related employment and the wind-down of the tourist season. Little change is expected in the state’s unemployment rate during this period.