There are more open job positions in South Carolina than unemployed people, latest data shows

According to the latest data provided by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, there are more open job positions in the state than unemployed people.

That said, there have been nearly 98,000 unemployed people in South Carolina in September, while just under 102,000 job openings were listed on the DEW website.

“We need to do everything we can to make South Carolina attractive for other people. The macro trend of people moving from the Northeast and the Midwest to the Sunbelt is real. It’s been accelerated by the pandemic. We don’t want to just get our fair share of those folks, we want to get more of our fair share, because we have jobs,” said South Carolina Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Bob Morgan.

Morgan added that the state maybe should focus on attracting workers our of state to fill in the open job positions in South Carolina.

He says the current number of openings can be attributed to an increase in demand for services, the lack of work force participation among mothers and working age men and the supply chain crisis.

“As employers, we may be getting closer to where we can be fully re-opened, but there may be more shutdowns coming due to supply chain. You can’t make things and put people to work if you don’t have the products that produce whatever it is they’re manufacturing,” said Morgan.

It’s not all negative though since the latest data shows that the state is currently employing more now than it did before the pandemic, but Morgan believes that the situation won’t change much in near future. According to Morgan, once the pandemic is over, the things will go positive immediately.