COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Employment and Work Force (DEW) released the latest data on the jobs environment in the state and offered an explanation of CARES Act funding to benefit recipients.
For the week of Dec. 13-19, 2020, DEW reports that 3,538 initial unemployment (IU) claims were files in South Carolina. Horry, Richland and Greenville counties had the highest numbers of claims reported with 424 in Horry, 315 in Richland and 303 in Greenville. The number of IU claims has been dropping steadily as businesses reopen -- the week of October 11 was the first time since the beginning of the pandemic that IU claims fell below 4,000 per week. Since then, with the exception of the week of November 29 when the number rose to 5,309, the IU claims have been around 3,600 per week for the entire state.
Since March 15, when most businesses in South Carolina were closing due to the pandemic, there has been a total of 796,341 IU claims filed.
DEW's offices will be closed for the holidays and to avoid payment delays due to closures and bank holidays, claimants are encouraged to complete their weekly certification no later than tonight. The agency will be closed Thursday, December 24 through Monday, December 28 in observance of the Christmas holiday. Because of the Monday holiday, some claimants may receive their weekly benefits on Tuesday, which may be different from normal.
According to DEW's data, the unemployment rate for November 2020 was 4.4%. That is about what the national average was pre-pandemic but higher than the 2% pre-pandemic rate in South Carolina.
DEW also today updated the status of the emergency COVID-19 relief fund grants -- CARES Act funds -- now being negotiated in Washington D.C.
Congress passed a bi-partisan bill on Monday, Dec. 21, that now awaits President Trump's signature. Highlights of that bill (at present) include:
- An additional $300 per week for all claimants receiving unemployment benefits after claim week ending December 26th through claim week ending March 13, 2021.
- The number of weeks for an individual on the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program has increased from a previous total of 39 weeks to 50 weeks.
- The number of weeks for an individual on the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program has increased from a total of 13 weeks to 24 weeks.
- Reimbursable employers will continue to receive the federally funded 50/50 split for COVID-19 related unemployment claims until March 14, 2021.
The president has already signaled that he wants more in the bill for workers and there may still be some work to be done before he is willing to sign it.
When the president does sign the bill, the money will not appear immediately in checks to claimants.
DEW explains: "Once approved, our agency will be work closely over the next several weeks with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) for implementation of these new and/or modified programs as federal guidelines must be established by USDOL before the state can carry out its mission to deliver these critical resources.
"In addition to these overall highlights, there are several pieces of legislation that influence how a claim is processed and may affect an individual’s specific claim, but the state must wait for guidance from USDOL and then apply that guidance to the system in accordance with South Carolina’s UI code of law. Once those steps have been taken, we will work with claimants through the portal, the website, social media, etc. with any additional instructions or next steps needed.
"The time from the passage of a bill to program implementation within a state can take up to 4 to 6 weeks. If the new program requires back pay of benefits to a set date, South Carolina will ensure this is processed accordingly for claimants deemed eligible."
