COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Employment and Work Force (DEW) reports a slight rise in the number of initial unemployment insurance (UI) claims in the state for the week ending Sept. 26, 2020.
5,132 South Carolinians filed initial unemployment claims last week, an increase of 199 over the week before. The number is still low in comparison to the number of claims filed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue the downward trend in claims that began in mid-August. The highest number of UI claims were during the week of April 5-11 when 87,686 South Carolinians filed COVID-related claims.
In the latest data, Greenville and Richland counties had the greatest number of UI claims -- Greenville reported 555 and Richland had 481.
As of August 2020, the latest numbers available, the unemployment rate for the state of South Carolina was 6.3%.
DEW also reports a total payout during the week of Sept. 20-26 to be $128,520,779.34.
