SCDEW: Unemployment claims up for the fourth straight week

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– Unemployment insurance claims in South Carolina went up for the fourth straight week, according to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

From July 4-10, nearly 2,490 South Carolinians filed for unemployment last week. That’s an increase of more than 300 claims over the last week. It is also the second week in a row that claims surpassed the 2,000 mark.

SCDEW says the most claims last week came from Greenville County, with 263.

Since the start of the pandemic, department officials say more than 908,000 people have filed for unemployment statewide, and a total of $6,491,655,475.27 has been paid out. The state’s most recent unemployment rate, for the month of May, stood at 4.6%.

To access SCDEW’s full unemployment insurance claims dashboard, visit www.dew.sc.gov/data-and-statistics/data-dashboard.