May 28, 2020

More than 3,400 South Dakotans filed their initial weekly claim for unemployment benefits in the most recent reporting period.

At 3,410 claims, that’s a week-over-week decrease of 481 claims, according to the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

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 million was paid out in state benefits in addition to $12.6 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and $696,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance May 24 was $94. 4 million.

This week, Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order extending the COVID-19 state of emergency to Dec. 30. That means both the non-paid waiting week and work search requirement set to expire May 31 will continue to be waived until further notice.