SC DEW: Decrease in initial unemployment insurance claims last week

(Courtesy: SC DEW/Facebook)

SOUTH CAROLINA (WOLO) – The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce reported a decrease in initial unemployment insurance claims for last week.

According to the department, during the week of October 25 – 31, there were 3,398 initial insurance claims for unemployment filed.

That’s a decrease of 439 claims filed from the previous week of October 11 – 17, where 3,837 were filed.

On their intrastate map showing initial unemployment insurance claims by counties, Greenville County had the highest number of claims in the state with 343.

SC DEW says since March 15, 770,548 total initial claims have been filed in the Palmetto State.

The department has paid more than $4.5 billion in a combination of the following:

• Regular state Unemployment Insurance benefits
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (For the self-employed and others)
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program ($600 per week)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (Extension of benefits for 13 weeks)
• Extended Benefits (Additional 16 weeks of benefits after PEUC)

The U.S. Department of Labor reported 751,000 weekly jobless claims last week.

The department says 21.5 million people are receiving some form of unemployment benefits, though the figure may be inflated by double-counting by states.