S.C. unemployment benefits paid since March 2020 top $6.2 billion

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The total payout to S.C. residents in a combination of state and federal unemployment benefits since March 15, 2020 has topped $6.2 billion.

The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce paid out $49.6 million in benefits for the week ending May 22, when 2,061 initial unemployment claims were filed. That represented a drop of 484 initial claims from the previous week, according to DEW data.

On May 6, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster directed DEW to terminate federal unemployment programs by the end of June.

The Upstate continued to see the most initial claims filed, with Greenville County recording 222 for the most recent week and Spartanburg County 195. Richland County saw 175 claims, Charleston County 120, Horry County 109 and Lexington County 104.

Nationally, 406,000 initial unemployment claims were filed, a decrease of 38,000 from the previous week’s revised total.