Unemployment insurance initial claims rise past 580,000 in SC

Since the coronavirus pandemic began in mid-March, hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians have been out of work and filing for unemployment insurance.

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — Since the coronavirus pandemic began in mid-March, hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians have been out of work and filing for unemployment insurance. The weekly number of initial claims has gone down as the state’s begun to reopen, but there’s still a significant amount of people unemployed.

“I think in regards to totals, I think we’re still well over 580,000 initial claims for the whole unemployment insurance program,” said Jamie Suber, Chief of Staff for the Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW).

As the state began to reopen, the weekly number of initial claims began to fall. But after seven consecutive weeks of decreasing numbers, the number of claims increased by almost 4,000.

“Just looking through the plain data, trying to understand the industry and trying to understand what could’ve led to this uptick, there’s no math or science that’s really explaining this,” said Suber.

One factor may be an increased number of positive coronavirus cases in the state.

“We also need to take into consideration new claims may be individuals that were able to work for a period of time, they were not impacted back in March, back in April. Now, as we see the numbers associated with COVID, we may see that spike associated with another wave,” said Suber.

As people try to navigate the pandemic without a job, DEW is there to help.

“We’re here to serve as that bridge to help those individuals roll from unemployment insurance benefits right into a gainful and meaningful employment,” said Suber. “Work with them, update their resume, help them with case management assistance so they know what jobs are available for them. Help them get that next opportunity.”

There is a weekly requirement of the claimant to certify that they’re still unemployed. Failure to do so will prevent payment for that claim week.

The agency has paid more than $2.1 billion in a combination of state unemployment benefits and CARES Act programs, FPUC ($600), PUA and PEUC.

Click here to go to the ‘Apply for Benefits’ page, which includes the process and step by step tutorials.

For more information on unemployment insurance because of and during the COVID pandemic, click here.