State
Percentage
South Carolina
8.1%
Pennsylvania
7.7%
New York
7.6%

South Carolina: A unique factor that contributes to the unemployment rate is seasonal jobs. Seasonal jobs include education, leisure and hospitality, construction, and financial activities. South Carolina has seen the education industry fall -0.3%; leisure and hospitality too. Financial Activities industry there was a -0.7% decline. These seasonal jobs in South Carolina took a small but noticeable dive.
Reference:
South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce-New Release Sept 20, 2013(www.dew.sc.gov/documents/lmi-monthly-trends/August _2013.pdf)

Pennsylvania: Their unique factor is that private sector has increased within the month of August. Pennsylvania rate actually went from 7.5% to 7.7% unemployment. Jobs in the private sector increased 9,200 due to the gains in both goods-producing and private-service providing industries Private sector increased in opportunities for employment as the states’ unemployment still took a hit. “Pennsylvania has now added 141,300 private sector jobs since the beginning of the Corbett Administration in 2011.” -Julia Hearthway, Secretary of Department and Labor & Industry
For a while, the unemployment rate was down four-tenths of a percentage point, while the labor force was up 19,000, the amount of people was up 45,000 and unemployment was down 26,000.

Reference
Pennsylvania Department of Labor Website