First-time unemployment claims down in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Initial unemployment claims fell in South Dakota’s latest jobs report, though continued claims rose slightly.

A total of 542 first-time claims were processed by the South Dakota Dept. of Labor last week, a decrease of 104 from the prior week.

After spiking to several thousand claims per week in the early months of the pandemic, unemployment claims have hovered between 400-900 over recent months. The state averaged around 200-300 prior to the pandemic. Officials have said they expect this number to continue to fluctuate as long as the coronavirus impacts the economy.

Continued unemployment claims rose by 61 to 5,640. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

A total of $1.3 million was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $1.4 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, $71,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and $293,000 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

Nationwide unemployment claims rose to 861,000 last week.