South Dakota sees decline in unemployment claims

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - State officials say both first-time and continued unemployment benefits claims went down in South Dakota’s latest jobs report.

The Department of Labor reported 439 initial weekly claims, down 169 from the previous. While still above pre-pandemic levels, it’s significantly lower than the spikes seen in the early months of the pandemic.

Continued unemployment claims fell by over 200 to 5,453. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

A total of $1.5 million was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $1.4 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, $94,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and $303,000 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits.

The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was $155.1 million on Feb. 21.

Nationwide unemployment claims fell by 111,000 to 730,000 last week.