News and Press Releases for April 2006
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04/24/2006
Gov. Sanford Issues Statement on Unemployment Rates
Report Shows Decrease in Every S.C. County
Columbia, S.C. - Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on South Carolina's county unemployment rates decreasing across the board:
"A drop in unemployment rate for every county in the state is one more sign that we're moving in the right direction with respect to our economy," Gov. Sanford said. "There are over 117,000 more people working in South Carolina than there were when 2003 began, South Carolina's employment is at an all-time high, and our state is in the top third of all states for job growth for the first three years of this administration. Despite our unemployment rate being largely a product of a rapidly increasing labor force, this across the board drop is obviously very good news for our state. It's now incredibly important to continue that progress by controlling government spending, lowering taxes, and improving our business climate with changes like tort reform."
In March, 29 counties saw their unemployment rate drop by at least half a percentage point, and six counties saw a decrease of at least one percentage point. The largest decrease of 1.6 percentage points was reported in Marlboro County, where Governor Sanford recently took part in the dedication for Mohawk Industries' 300-job expansion. In addition to today's report that the unemployment rate had dropped for every South Carolina county, the S.C. Employment Security Commission reported Friday that last month was the largest March employment increase ever reported for our state.
"When I began my role as secretary less than 60 days ago, I was very clear that all 46 counties are a priority for Commerce," said Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor. "The figures released today which show the unemployment figures have dropped in every single county in South Carolina is incredibly good news and proof that Commerce and this administration are making real progress in improving the economic picture of our state."