Jobless rate here nears 10 percent

When it comes to job growth, Cherokee County appears to be limping into fall.

The local jobless rate rose six-tenths of a percent from 9.1 in July to 9.7 percent in August, according to S.C. Employment Security Commission figures released Friday.

The figures mirrored the state's unemployment rate, which rose to 7.6 in August compared with 7.0 percent from the previous month.

The employment commission blamed the rise in the unemployment rate to layoffs in the state's manufacturing and construction sectors.

That likely factored into the figures here with the local Freightliner plant announcing last month it was cutting 250 jobs.

Neighboring Spartanburg and Union counties also saw a jump in their unemployment rates. Spartanburg County rose to 8.1 percent, up from 7.5 in July, while Union's rate increased 1.1 percent to 12.5 percent, the eighth-highest unemployment rate in the state.