According to a recent AP post, South Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped to 11.6 percent still leaving it sixth among the nation’s most unemployed states.  The figure dropped from 12.2 percent in March and has been in decline for the third straight month. The economic data was released today by the state’s Employment and Workforce Department, which also reported a loss of some 6,000 jobs in April.

Despite the continuing drop, one expert cited in the piece claimed that South Carolina currently was not in the position economically to support growth in both jobs and the workforce.  Another stated that though recovery would eventually come to the Palmetto State that all trends thus far have suggested that such recovery would be “agonizingly slow”.

The state report also reported significant gains in seasonal work, particularly the hospitality industry.  Construction, one of the biggest sectors in the state to be hit by the recession, continued to shed more jobs.