MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Employment numbers were going strong in Horry and Florence counties in March before the effects of the coronavirus hit.
In Horry County, 3,749 more people had jobs than during the previous year. The unemployment rate for March dropped from 4.5 percent the previous year to 3.9 percent this year. The total number of people with jobs in the county in March was 143,409, according to the SC Department of Employment and Workforce.
In Florence County, the unemployment rate dropped from 3.5 percent to 3.1 percent year over year, with 599 more people given jobs. Florence County has a labor force of 67,526 and of that labor force, 65,442 were employed in March.
However, the effects of the coronavirus would soon send the employment numbers spiraling downward in just a few weeks. South Carolinians applying for unemployment in just the last week of March increase by 108.85 percent.
The new employment numbers releases on Friday were done prior to the closings of many businesses and “prior to our state truly experiencing the effects as we took shelter to combat COVID 19,” according to Dan Ellzey, executive director of DEW.
Ellzey said the DEW expects its release on May 22 to be a more accurate depiction of the current unemployment situation. “We have been processing more than a quarter of a million claims within the last month,” Ellzey said. “Prior to that, we processed approximately 7,000 claims per month.”
Statewide, unemployment dropped significantly from a year ago, from 3.4 percent to only 2.6 percent. Nationally, the unemployment rate moved higher from 3.5 percent in February to 4.4 percent in March. The effects of the pandemic already were being felt.
The number of South Carolinians at work set a new record at 2,334,652 in the March report. The state saw an increase of 43,290 jobs over the previous year.
Gov. McMaster on Thursday said he expects the state’s economy to begin a return to normal in June. “By the end of June, we expect our economy to be humming,” McMaster said.
