SC DEW: Initial unemployment claims in SC increase

SOUTH CAROLINA (WOLO) – South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce says the state has an increase in initial unemployment claims.

Officials say in the week of August 9 – 15, 7,255 people filed their initial claim for unemployment insurance in the state, with Richland County showing 672 claims filed, the highest in the Midlands.

According to SC DEW, that’s an increase of 1,334 initial claims from the week prior.

But officials say fluctuation of claims data is common and they found no significant singular event that led to the increase.

SC DEW says in the last 22 weeks, the total number of initial claims has risen to 719,704 in South Carolina.

Officials say the agency has paid more than $3.81 billion in a combination of state unemployment insurance benefits, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and Extended Benefits.

In the United States, the Department of Labor says 1.1 million workers lost their jobs and filed for unemployment insurance last week, also showing an increase from a previous report.

Economic officials say this comes as jobless claims are increasing and the extra $600 a week in pandemic unemployment aid has expired.

Congress is still discussing a new aid package for those losing work due to the COVID-19 virus.