State jobless rate lowest since 2000

All those hiring signs you see apparently are directed at a shrinking market of South Carolinians who want work.  The state today reported the number of unemployed who are looking has dropped to below 100,000 and, for May, the jobless rate fell to 4.1%.  Oconee’s jobless rate was 3.6%.  Its number of unemployed actively seeking work totaled 1,233.  May was a rare month in which Oconee tied Pickens at 3.6%. A Department of Employment and Workforce official went to Washington this week to draw attention to a state program that puts people to work. Before a congressional subcommittee, Michelle Paczynski highlighted the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program.  It is considered the first legislative reform in 15 years of South Carolina’s public workforce system.