South Carolina’s jobless rate hit 8 percent in October - the highest in 25 years.

New numbers out Friday show the unemployment rate in Lowcountry counties and the state of South Carolina as a whole on the rise in October.

Wall Street looks for gains Friday after the Dow fell 445 points to close below 8,000.  The Dow plunged 10.6% in two days. 

The Federal Reserve has sharply lowered its projection for economic activity this year and next, and signaled additional interest rate reductions may be needed.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking $25 billion in emergency loans from the financial industry bailout package.

Unemployment, retail spending and auto sales all added to Wall Street’s worries Thursday as the Dow dropped by 443 points.

Wall Street took another big hit Friday.  The Dow dropped 312 points.

South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped slightly in September, a month after state unemployment reached a 15-year high. The Employment Security Commission on Tuesday attributed the lower rate of 7.3 percent, compared to 7.6 the month before, not to an improving economy but to the unemployed halting their job
searches.

General Motors has announced plans to close a Michigan metal stamping plant and stop making sport utility vehicles in Wisconsin by the end of the year.

The board meets Friday in Columbia and will hear about sales tax collections that have been pummeled.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson go before a House panel, a day after senators took them to task.

With the state’s unemployment rate at a 15-year high, you may be one of thousands of South Carolinians without a job.

Armored vehicle manufacturer Force Protection is laying off more workers. The company has laid off fewer than 100 workers.

State officials say layoffs in manufacturing and construction added 14,000 South Carolina residents to unemployment rolls last month and pushed the jobless
rate to a 15-year high.