Oconee’s unemployment drops

Unemployment in Oconee County for August, the last full month of summer, dropped to 5.1%–after having registered at 7.5% of the county’s workforce in July.  According to figures from the state Department of Employment and Workforce, August saw 1,816 members of the county’s workforce out of work but actively looking to land back on the workforce.  In August, the county’s workforce was estimated at 35,985, with 34,079 working.  Oconee’s lower jobless rate corresponded with what happened across the state.  “The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for August had a significant drop to 6.4 percent from July’s revised estimate of 8.7 percent,” said Dan Ellzey, DEW director. “That is the lowest unemployment rate in the state since the pandemic began.”