South Dakota to end $300 federal unemployment benefit

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The South Dakota Department of Labor announced the state will end its participation in the federal pandemic-related unemployment assistance programs.

South Dakota was a part of three CARES Act unemployment programs, including $300 weekly payments for claimants.

State Labor and Regulation Secretary Marcia Hultman says the state is “open for business” and that ending these benefits is a “necessary step towards recovery, growth, and getting people back to work.”

“Businesses across the state continue to say they would grow and expand if it wasn’t for the lack of workers. Help wanted signs line our streets,” said Secretary Hultman.

South Dakota will continue to pay regular State unemployment claims.

The move follows other Republican governors in several states also ending the benefits, including Iowa, Alabama, Arkansas, Montana, and South Carolina.

The benefits will end on June 26.