Continued unemployment claims fall, first-time claims rise in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Continued unemployment claims stayed on a downward trend, while initial weekly claims continued creep back upwards in the latest South Dakota jobs report.

According to the South Dakota Department of Labor, continued claims fell by over a thousand in for the week ending in June 27 to 15,942. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

However, first-time unemployment assistance claims increased by over 300 to 1,160 for the week ending in July 11. Initial claims had been dropping consistently since hitting a one-week high of over 8,000 during the height of the pandemic. However, this number has now risen for two straight weeks again. Prior to the pandemic, it averaged between 200-300 per week.

A total of $3.3 million was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $10.6 million paid out in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), $739,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and $92,000 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits.

“The $600 additional weekly benefit under the CARES Act that has been federally funded will end soon. The last payment will be on claims for the week ending July 25,” said state Labor and Regulation Secretary Marcia Hultman. “This additional unemployment provision helped bridge the gap between the COVID-19 outbreak and the return to normal.”

The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance July 12 was $121.4 million.

Nationwide, 1.3 million Americans filed for unemployment last week.