Lower Unemployment Taxes for Businesses Coming in 2024

Gov. Henry McMaster and the S.C. Dept. of Employment and Workforce Executive Director William Floyd announced lower unemployment insurance tax rates for most businesses for 2024.

This makes the third year in a row the agency, the General Assembly and the governor have lowered unemployment insurance taxes. They credit the ability to lower the taxes to diligent planning and a robust economy.

“There is no better time to be in business in South Carolina. The state’s leadership has worked hard to make strong financial decisions that maintain a healthy unemployment insurance trust fund which will benefit employers in the coming year,” said Governor Henry McMaster. “With a growing economy, a stable trust fund balance, and lower business tax, South Carolina proves once again that it is the ideal destination for business development and success.”

With a fully solvent and resilient UI Trust Fund balance of nearly $1.6 billion, South Carolina:

• Set the 2024 tax rates to raise approximately the same level of revenue as 2023 and 2022.
• Lowered rates for rate classes 2-19 by an average of 6% compared to 2023 levels; rates for classes 1 and 20 are set by statute and do not change from year to year.
• Will not require any solvency surcharge due to the sufficiently high trust fund balance.

“Strong economic and wage growth have played a crucial role in maintaining our trust fund balance above the required threshold,” said Director Floyd. “Our agency is committed to building the workforce, facilitating job placement, and supporting employers. Our unemployment rate has steadily declined and now matches the low 2.9% rate of February 2020. And we have a record number of people working in South Carolina with one of the fastest growing labor forces in the country.”

S.C. DEW conducts an extensive analysis of factors such as the economy, the current state of the UI Trust Fund, projected unemployment rates, estimated benefit payments and the revenue needed to pay these benefits to determine tax rates.

Although tax rates for most tax classes are lower than their 2023 levels, individual businesses may still move between classes based on their unemployment claim activity. All businesses with charges against their accounts are provided a “charge statement” quarterly to review and have 30 days to protest any charges that they do not believe should be on their account. Tax rate notices will be mailed to businesses on Monday, Nov. 13, but as of Nov. 3, employers can log into their State Unemployment Insurance Tax System (SUITS) account to see their 2024 tax rate.

View the 2024 tax rate chart.