Lexington County's Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly

By Lindsay Street and Tiffany Barkley.

Lexington County's unemployment rate decreased to 6.2 percent in July — down from 6.9 percent reported in June, according to the latest numbers released by the S.C. Department of Employment Workforce. 

The rate is more promising than the statewide rate, which remained unchanged at 8.1 percent from June. Over the year, the statewide rate has dropped by more than a full percentage point. 

There were 174,267 unemployed South Carolinians in July and an estimated total labor force of 2,161,966. The number of employed South Carolinians slid to 1,987,699, decreasing by 4,084 since June. 

Nationally, the unemployment rate declined to 7.4 percent from June’s estimate of 7.6 percent.