A drop in Oconee’s jobless rate

The latest unemployment figures released by the state show Oconee County’s rate fell below 7%. For September, the jobless rate stood at 6.8%—down from 7.2% in August. Out of a county workforce of nearly 31 thousand, 700, those with jobs number 29,554. Oconee’s rate is two-tenths of a percentage point below the statewide rate which, for September, stood at 6.6%. The director of the state Department of Employment and Workforce, Cheryl Stanton, says, “South Carolina’s job outlook remains positive with more than two million South Carolinians working.”