RICHLAND COUNTY, SC (WACH) — Governor Henry McMaster and SC Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) Executive Director William Floyd announced that South Carolina unemployment insurance tax rates will decrease or remain the same for employers in 2024.
This is the third year in a row that DEW, the General Assembly and the Governor have been able to lower business unemployment insurance taxes thanks to planning and a strong economy.
“There is no better time to be in business in South Carolina. State leadership is working hard to make strong financial decisions that maintain a healthy unemployment insurance trust fund that will benefit employers in the coming year,” said Governor Henry McMaster. “With a growing economy, a strong trust fund balance and a lower business tax, South Carolina proves once again that it is the ideal destination for business development and success.”
With a fully solvent and sustainable unemployment insurance trust fund balance of nearly $1.6 billion, South Carolina:
- Set the 2024 tax rates to raise roughly the same level of revenue as 2023 and 2022.
- Reduced rates for tariff classes 2-19 by an average of 6% compared to 2023 levels; rates for classes 1 and 20 are set by law and do not change from year to year.
- It will not require an additional solvency fee due to a sufficiently high trust fund balance.
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“Strong economic growth and wage growth have played a critical role in keeping our trust fund balance above the required threshold,” said Director Floyd. “Our agency is committed to building the workforce, making it easier to find work and supporting employers. Our unemployment rate has steadily declined and is now at a low of 2.9% since February 2020. And we have a record number of people working in South Carolina with one of the fastest growing workforces in the country.”
DEW analyzes factors such as the economy, the current state of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, projected unemployment rates and expected benefit payments and the revenue needed to pay those benefits to determine tax rates.
Although tax rates for most tax brackets are lower than their 2023 levels, individual businesses may move between brackets based on their jobless claim activity.
All businesses with charges on their accounts are provided with a quarterly ‘charge statement’ for review. These businesses have 30 days to protest any charges they feel shouldn’t be on their account.
Tax rate notices will be sent to businesses on Monday 13 November, as of Friday 3 November, employers can log into their ITS account to see their 2024 tax rate.
Lower taxes aren’t the only way the government helps businesses.
The General Education and Workforce Development Act will improve the state’s responsiveness to industry needs by aligning workforce development activities and providing real-time labor market information and analysis to drive workforce decisions.
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To provide the best workforce information and analysis, employers will begin submitting Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes for each employee and the number of hours worked by the employee as part of quarterly payroll reports submitted through the IRS DEW.
SOC code – a statistical standard used to classify workers into a specific category that best fits their job.
This information must be provided in the 1st quarter 2024 payroll reports.
DEW encourages employers to enter SOC codes in the fourth quarter of 2023, as this information will be retained in SUITS for future quarters.
“This data is important to accurately understanding the composition or gaps in our state’s current workforce and, looking forward, to better anticipate and meet our employers’ future workforce needs,” said Director Floyd.
Visit https://dew.sc.gov/employers/SOC to learn more about SOC codes.
