How much did SC employment and unemployment grow over past year? See new federal job data

South Carolina’s unemployment rate and employment numbers changed noticeably since last year, for better and worse, according to a recent government report.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released a State Employment and Unemployment Survey, which provided details for each state that had significantly modified its employment numbers between Jan. 2025 and Jan. 2026.

Reasonings were not given, but SC has consistently recorded rapid population growth over the past five years, which has likely contributed to the changes reported by the bureau.

Here are the key takeaways:

States with significant employment changes year-over-year

States like Texas and California lead the U.S. in terms of total job growth, while states like Nevada and SC have recorded the fastest percentage-based employment growth. The following four states had the most significant employment changes between Jan. 2025 and Jan. 2026:

• #1. Nevada: 1.9% increase in employment, from 1,571,800 to 1,602,000
• #2. South Carolina: 1.3% increase in employment, from 2,374,000 to 2,405,500
• #3. Texas: 0.8% increase in employment, from 14,267,300 to 14,379,500
• #4. California: 0.7% increase in employment, from 18,024,800 to 18,156,000

Maryland and the District of Columbia were the only locations that saw a significant decrease in employment over the year.

SC’s employment growth outpaced its unemployment rate increase, but was still one of 17 states that saw statistically significant unemployment rate changes from Jan. 2025 to Jan. 2026.

Here’s how much it increased:

States with significant unemployment rate changes year-over-year

The report showed that SC had one of the fastest growing unemployment rates in the nation, though states like Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia saw more concerning percentage increases.

These are the 10 states with the highest unemployment rate changes from Jan. 2025 to Jan. 2026:

• #1. Delaware: 1.3% increase in unemployment rate, from 4.1% to 5.4%
• #2. District of Columbia: 1.0% increase in unemployment rate, from 5.7% to 6.7%
• #3. Florida: 1.0% increase in unemployment rate, from 3.5% to 4.5%
• #4. Minnesota: 1.0% increase in unemployment rate, from 3.4% to 4.4%
• #5. Connecticut: 0.9% increase in unemployment rate, from 3.6% to 4.5%
• #6. South Carolina: 0.8% increase in unemployment rate, from 4.1% to 4.9%
• #7. West Virginia: 0.8% increase in unemployment rate, from 3.8% to 4.6%
• #8. Maryland: 0.8% increase in unemployment rate, from 3.5% to 4.3%
• #9. Oklahoma: 0.8% increase in unemployment rate, from 3.1% to 3.9%
• #10. Montana: 0.7% increase in unemployment rate, from 2.9% to 3.6%

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics methodology

The civilian labor force and unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of households, according to the BLS. These data pertain to people based on where they reside.

The employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours and earnings by industry.

This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "How much did SC employment and unemployment grow over past year? See new federal job data."