Aug. 22--Horry County's jobless rate improved in July compared with June, but officials say the jobless situation is more bleak than the numbers show.

Horry County's rate dropped to 10.4 percent in July from 11.3 percent in June -- compared with 6 percent in July 2008, according to statistics released Friday by the S.C. Employment Security Commission.

Despite the drop in rates, the labor market continues to show weakness with a lack of job growth coupled with greater numbers of discouraged workers who have given up looking for work, which takes them out of the jobless statistics, said Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University.

"These discouraged workers drive the official unemployment rate down, while broader measures of unemployment that include these discouraged workers will remain high," he said.

The drop didn't mean much to area job seekers.

"There's just no jobs, there's nothing, not from what I've seen," said Mark Pierce of Loris, who was laid off four months ago. "I've applied everywhere. I've applied to be a bartender, a waiter, a taxi driver. No job is beneath me. ... I'm trying to get married and I have two kids and bills to pay."

In Georgetown County, where more than 200 people lost their jobs this summer with the shutdown of the ArcelorMittal steel mill, the jobless rate ticked up to 12.2 percent in July, compared with 12.1 percent in June and 7.1 percent in July 2008.

Statewide, the jobless rate showed its first improvement since January 2008, according to the commission. The rate -- the sixth-highest in the country -- dropped to 11.8 percent in July, compared to 12.1 percent in June.

In North Carolina, the rate stayed flat at 11 percent. Rates for N.C. counties, including Brunswick, won't be available until next week.

The national rate improved slightly, dropping to 9.4 percent in July from 9.5 percent in June.

But many job seekers are just giving up.

"The data trends indicate that people in South Carolina left the labor force for the second month in a row," Ted Halley, executive director of the state Employment Security Commission, said in a statement. "There is concern that people are becoming more discouraged over job prospects in the short term and are giving up the job search."

Allendale County had South Carolina's highest unemployment, at 22.5 percent. Lexington County had the lowest rate at 8.2 percent.

Most of the job losses were in education. Retail, manufacturing and construction also shed jobs, while hospitality and financial services added jobs, according to the commission.