Half of SC’s hospitality jobs gone; unemployment rate triples in NC

RALEIGH — South Carolina’s unemployment rate soared to a level never seen in more than 40 years of reporting as the coronavirus wiped out nearly half the state’s restaurant tourism and other hospitality jobs.

A report from the state’s jobless agency says South Carolina’s unemployment rate was 12.1% in April. It was 3.2% in March, South Carolina’s unemployment rate touched 11.7% twice in the Great Recession, the last time in February 2010.

The pandemic wiped out more than 288,000 jobs in a month in a state where 2.4 million people want to work, including more than 142,000 hospitality and tourism jobs.

North Carolina’s unemployment rate for April nearly tripled, going from 4.3% in March to 12.2%. Both rates are still lower than the national rate of 14.7%.

The government is hopeful that most of the people who lost jobs in April should be able to return to work, about 90% of them.

Charlotte restaurant hiring employees to try and help unemployment numbers Charlotte restaurant hiring employees to try and help unemployment numbers

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