Over 50,000 unemployment claims made in South Dakota since pandemic hit

Unemployment claims in South Dakota dropped for the second week in a row, but they remained historically high as the economy continues to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The South Dakota Department of Labor processed 3,410 initial weekly claims for unemployment claims from May 17 through May 23, officials say.

Thursday's numbers mark a decrease of 481 from the previous week. However, on average, the state usually hovers around 200-300 initial claims per week.

Since the effects of the pandemic first hit in mid-March, over 50,000 initial weekly unemployment claims have been made in South Dakota.

The latest number of continued claims is 25,186 for the week ending May 9. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

A total of $4.0 million was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $12.6 million paid out in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and $696,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, according to Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance May 24 was $94.4 million.

“On Tuesday, Governor Noem signed Executive Order 2020-26 to extend the existing COVID-19 State of Emergency to Dec. 30, 2020,” Hultman said. “This means both the non-paid waiting week and work search requirement set to expire May 31 will continue to be waived until further notice.”

Nationwide, an additional 2.1 million Americans

> last week.