SENECA — Oconee and Pickens counties were not spared the fallout from a weak jobs report statewide that saw South Carolina’s jobless rate jump to 7 percent in July, its highest since October 2005.

After five straight months of recording unemployment below 7 percent, Oconee’s jobless rate bounced to 7.7 percent in July, up 0.8 percent since June. It marked the 36th time in the past 57 months that Oconee’s unemployment rate has reached 7 percent or higher.

Oconee’s highest unemployment rate during those 57 months was 9.6 percent, a mark it reached in February 2006 and again in July 2006.

Pickens County had recorded 18 straight months with unemployment below 6 percent until the trend was broken in July when it reached 6.3 percent, a 0.5 percent increase from the previous month.

During that stretch, Pickens’ lowest jobless rate was 4.4 percent in April 2007, while its highest was 5.8 percent recorded in June.

The job outlook soured throughout the Upstate too.

Anderson County’s jobless rate soared to 7 percent, its highest in the past 19 months. Anderson was hurt with the closing in July of Owens Corning, which employed 117 workers.

Despite being home to the BMW production plant, Spartanburg County’s unemployment rate shot up to 7.5 percent. It’s the first time since February 2006 that Spartanburg’s jobless rate reached 7 percent or higher.

Greenville County, which perennially posts among the lowest jobless rates in the state, saw its unemployment climb to 5.8 percent, it’s highest since August 2006.

Aside from the downturn in the economy, officials with the South Carolina Employment Security Commission point to the closing of local schools for the summer recess, along with customary layoffs in manufacturing during the summer when some plants are closed for maintenance, for the spike in unemployment.

The federally funded Extended Unemployment Compensation program went into effect in July to assist individuals who have exhausted benefits under the regular unemployment insurance program. The extended benefits run through March 2009.