SD First Time Jobless Claims Rise, Continued Claims Drop

Initial unemployment claims in South Dakota increased in the lastest report while continued claims saw a sharp drop.

404 initial weekly claims were processed by the South Dakota Department of Labor for the week ending October 2. That's up 137 from last week, but much lower than the thousands per week during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dakota News Now reports.

Last week, the state saw first-time jobless numbers drop to 'normal levels' to between 200 and 300.

Continued claims, or the number of people eligible for and receiving benefits after a first-time claim, decreased by 1,192 reaching 4,975 for the week ending September 26.

The state paid out $889,000 in benefits, The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was $120.3 million on Oct. 4, according to Dakota News Now.

Nationally, first-time claims came in a little higher than analysts had expected as 840,000 workers received benefits, according to Fox Business. Over 63 million Americans have filed an initial claim since government-mandated coronavirus lockdowns began in March.

Continued claims dropped by over 1 million to 10.97 million.