SC Unemployment Reaches 11 Percent For February

JIM DAVENPORT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina's jobless rate surged to 11 percent in February, edging closer to the 14 percent peak a state advisory board expects as the recession throttles the state with the nation's second-highest unemployment rate.

The February rate lofted well above the nation's 8.1 percent rate. The increase from January's revised 10.3 percent moved the state's joblessness to levels unseen since March 1983. Michigan, with a 12 percent unemployment rate, had the nation's highest rate. North Carolina was fourth after it posted a 10.7 percent rate, its highest in at least 33 years. Oregon was third with 10.8 percent.

The growing joblessness has been playing out as $1.1 billion has been cut from the state's $7 billion budget since July. Lawmakers are battling with Gov. Mark Sanford over using federal stimulus cash to piece together a budget and spare public schools, colleges, health care and public safety programs from losses.

The Employment Security Commission said Friday the state has 241,000 unemployed, up 15,000 from January. If those were all living in one county, they'd rank as the state's seventh-largest.

Allendale County had the highest unemployment rate at 23.4 percent. It was one of five counties with a fifth of the work force out of work.