Slight uptick in Oconee jobless picture

The state reports a slight uptick in the numbers of Oconeeans who are out of work but actively looking for gainful employment.  Out of a work force that is approaching 36 thousand, only 1,160 Oconeeans were unemployed during May–the latest month for which the Department of Employment and Workforce has the numbers.  Oconee’s jobless rate in May was 3.2%.  It had been been 2.8% in April.  Dan Ellzey, executive DEW director, made this statement:  “As I have spent this month traveling the state, I have been encouraged to meet and talk with individuals entering the labor force and eager to work, particularly in the rural areas of South Carolina.  The agency’s SC Career Coach, a mobile extension of the the SC Works Centers, is making more visits throughout the state and focusing on the remote areas, allowing us to take job search services directly to the jobseekers who may lack transportation.”