The Official Web Site of the State of South Carolina

Due to severe winter weather, many government offices will be closed Monday, February 2. DEW's Appeals, Collections, and Unemployment Insurance (UI) Tax departments will not be available to take calls. Please know that we have limited staff taking UI calls starting at 10 AM and wait times may be long. We strongly encourage you to call back tomorrow if your call is not urgent. As a reminder, you can always get up-to-date information about your claim or account by visiting the MyBenefits claimant portal. 

For the latest updates of SC Works closures, please visit scworks.org/sc-works-closings to find out if your local center is affected.

Executive Director Dan Ellzey's November Employment Statement

Fri, 12/16/2022

Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey’s Statement

November 2022 Employment Situation

Columbia, S.C. – “South Carolina is still enjoying record low unemployment at 3.3%, unchanged from October. However, the state’s labor force participation rate of 56.4% continues to have our agency’s attention. The Labor Force Participation Task Force met last week to review the results of new research,” said S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey. “More details will be announced next week, including the dates of briefings that will review the findings of the Task Force. These briefings should facilitate conversations with partners about how to provide services and resources to encourage people to work.”

“Despite the low unemployment rate, SC Works Online Services has approximately 100,000 jobs posted. Opportunities are available in manufacturing, construction, retail, transportation, warehousing, hospitality, restaurants, healthcare, business, I.T., and more. Hourly wages continue to rise, with increases of 3% since January and 13.7% since the start of the pandemic, and many businesses are willing to train on the job,” continued Ellzey.

“If you want to understand the employment data in your region and connect with employers looking to hire, visit an SC Works Center. They can review the data for your local area with you, identify your skills for various jobs, and connect you with businesses ready to hire right now.”