First-time, continued unemployment claims down in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Both initial and continued unemployment claims dropped in South Dakota, though both remain above normal as the state continues to deal with the effects of the pandemic.

The state received a total of 497 first-time weekly unemployment benefit claims last week, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor’s latest jobs report. This is a decrease of 359 from the prior week’s total of 856.

Initial weekly claims reached several thousand per week in the early months of the pandemic. In recent months, it has hovered between 300-500, though the last job report it jumped back up to over 800. The state generally received around 200-300 weekly claims prior to the pandemic.

Continued unemployment claims fell by 137 to 3,676. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

Officials say a total of $807,000 was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $487,000 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, $324,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and $207,000 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

Nationwide, 709,000 people sought unemployment benefits last week.