Latest South Dakota Jobless Numbers Show Steady Recovery

The South Dakota Department of Labor is out with the latest jobless numbers. Initial claims, those filing an unemployment claim for the first time, dropped by 62 from last week to 382 for the week ending October 10.

That number remains higher than the average of 200 to 300 weekly claims before the pandemic, according to Dakota News Now. Just two weeks ago, the number of initial claims bottomed out at 267, falling within the average range for the first time since mid-March.

Early on during the government-mandated pandemic shutdowns, the state was processing thousands of weekly claims.

Continued claims, the number of unemployed workers who are eligible for and receiving benefits was 5,389 for the week ending October 3. That's up 311 over last week.

Nationally, first-time jobless claims came in higher than analysts expected. 898,000 workers filed an initial claim, about 4 times pre-COVID levels, according to Fox Business. Analysts were expecting 825,000 claims.

Continued claims came in at 10 million, dropping by 1.1 million from last week. Fox Business suggests the drop is from employers calling their workers back. Other workers may still be jobless having used up their state unemployment benefits or are now receiving aid through a separate Federal program.

64 million workers have received jobless benefits since COVID-19 related lockdowns ramped up in mid-March.