Unemployment claims decline in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Both first-time and continued unemployment claims fell in the South Dakota Department of Labor’s latest jobs report.

Initial unemployment claims fell by over 300 to 380, labor officials say. This comes after a one-week jump that saw claims surpass 700.

Prior to the pandemic, the state received around 200-300 claims per week. During the early months of the pandemic, officials reported several thousand claims per week. It has evened out to an average of 300-500 in recent months, but labor officials say it will likely to continue to fluctuate as long as the economy feels the impact of the coronavirus.

The latest number of continued state claims is 2,930 for the week ending Nov. 21, a decrease of 907 from the prior week’s total of 3,837. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

Officials say a total of $613,000 was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $210,000 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensatio,, $286,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and $184,000 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.