Next week at the Statehouse the state budget will be front and center.

The jobless rate went up by over one percent in December as the number of unemployed grew by over 25,000 people in South Carolina. Numbers released Tuesday show a record of more than 217,000 South Carolinians are out of work.

McKinley Washington, one of the state’s three Employment Security Commissioners, spoke to News Channel 7 to defend the agency’s handling of unemployment benefits, after the governor called the agency “out of control”.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford says Employment Security Commissioners have been grossly negligent in handling the state’s unemployment trust fund. He says if they don’t supply him with the figures he wants, he’ll fire them.

The speaker of the South Carolina House says he’ll ask the Legislative Audit Council to review the Employment Security Commission.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund that pays benefits to South Carolinians who’ve lost their jobs will run out of money at the end of the month. The Employment Security Commission has asked Gov. Mark Sanford to request a federal loan of $146 million, which would allow benefits to continue through March. But the governor says he won’t ask for the loan until the Employment Security Commission makes some changes.

The state may have to borrow money from the federal government, which could lead to higher taxes.