The number of first-time unemployment claims in South Carolina declined last week, report

South Carolina – First-time unemployment claims in the state of South Carolina has declined last week as they fell below 2,000 again, the Department of Employment and Workforce confirmed.

According to the data provided by the department, the department received a total of 1,783 first-time unemployment claims, for the week that ended on Saturday. Compared to the week before when the department received a total of 2,295 first-time unemployment claims, the number of claims is lower for 512, which is 22% decline from the prior week.

Per the department’s data, Richland County, Greenville County and Spartanburg County are the counties with the most first-time unemployment claims adding a total of 205, 183 and 122 claims respectively.

Berkeley County (111) and Charleston County (101) are the only two Lowcountry counties that added more than 100 claims, per the report.

Since the pandemic began, the state has paid out more than $6.6 billion in state and federal unemployment benefits.

The state reported a 3.4% unemployment rate for March, which is the most recent rate. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1% from February’s 3.5%.