COLUMBIA, S.C. — (AP) — South Carolina’s unemployment picture has improved overall, with 20,000 people finding work and businesses reopening as they adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But restaurants, hotels and other tourism businesses continue to struggle, having lost more jobs even in the height of the summer season.
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The state Department of Employment and Workforce said the unemployment rate in South Carolina dropped to 6.3% in August, down from 8.7% in July and 12.8% in April during the peak of the outbreak. But the main unemployment number conceals troubling trends.
South Carolina has lost 56,000 restaurant and hotel jobs since the pandemic started, 20% of that sector’s jobs.
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