First time, continued unemployment claims both drop in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Both initial and continued unemployment claims have dropped in South Dakota, though both remain above normal as the state’s job market continues to fluctuate amid the pandemic.

First time claims dropped by over 200 to 741 last week, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor. This number has hovered between 600-1,000 over the past month, down significantly from the early months of the pandemic. However, it is still higher than the pre-pandemic average of 200-300 per week.

Continued unemployment claims, which indicate the number of unemployment workers receiving benefits after their initial claims, have been dropping consistently, though often slowly, over the past couple months. The latest report saw a larger drop of 749 claims, down to 14,715 continued weekly claims.

Department of Labor officials previously said unemployment claims are likely to fluctuate going forward as the economy continues to deal with ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nationwide first-time unemployment claims crept upward last week to 1.1 million following two weeks of decline.

The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was $127.3 million on Aug. 16.

Benefits paid since March 16, courtesy Department of Labor: