Why are jobs lost and which industry groups are the hardest hit? Is there a relationship between age and education levels and unemployment? Are rural areas more vulnerable? Are vocational retraining programs readily available ”” and effective? And what about this engaging irony: 78,000 South Carolina workers are receiving unemployment benefits, yet thousands of job openings are posted in various forums every day. The Web site Indeed.com lists more than 32,000 open positions throughout the state. Financial assistance is critical to the jobless, but so are counseling, guidance and retraining.
Has the crush of processing jobless benefits overtaken the S.C. Employment Security Commission’s mandate to match jobs with job hunters? How many willing workers are finding jobs with the commission’s assistance? How many unwilling workers are collecting unemployment benefits?
Spiraling unemployment is the state’s critical current challenge. Dealing with it must involve more than just processing applications and passing out checks. Surely, the commission would agree.