COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s unemployment rate edged down to 4.0% in September, the seventh monthly decline in a row, and the number of residents with jobs climbed to a new high, according to figures released Tuesday by the state Department of Employment and Workforce.
The state now sits below the nation. The national jobless rate rose to 4.2% in September, while South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted rate fell from 4.1% in August.
About 2,573,275 South Carolinians were working last month, 6,493 more than in August and 73,280 more than a year earlier. The labor force, which counts people with jobs plus those actively looking, reached 2,679,964, and the number of unemployed residents dropped to 106,689.
Employers added jobs too. A separate survey of businesses showed nonfarm payrolls up 12,500 for the month to 2,441,300, a 2.3% gain over September 2025. Leisure and hospitality led the monthly growth with 5,700 jobs, followed by education and health services at 4,300 and professional and business services at 2,900. Construction added 1,300 jobs. Government employment slipped by 1,900, and the information sector lost 400.
Unemployment fell in every one of the state’s metro areas listed in the report. Charleston-North Charleston had the lowest rate at 3.2%, followed by Greenville-Anderson-Greer at 3.3%, Columbia at 3.6% and Spartanburg at 3.8%. Florence came in at 4.2% and Sumter at 4.8%; those metro figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Agency Executive Director William Floyd said in a statement that no state’s labor force is growing faster in 2026. He also pointed to the agency’s October focus on manufacturing jobs and on employment for people with disabilities through events at SC Works centers.
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