S.C. sees 1,436 initial unemployment claims filed in week

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Richland County saw 138 initial unemployment claims filed for the week ending Aug. 14, while Greenville County recorded 140 of a statewide total of 1,436. 

For the previous week, the state saw 1,432 first-time claims filed. 

For the week ending Aug. 14, the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce paid out $5.75 million in a combination of state and federal unemployment benefits as federal programs continued to phase out in the state per S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster's May directive. 

Since March 15, 2020, more than $6.5 billion in claims has been paid to 918,434 initial claimants. 

For the most recent week, Spartanburg County had 94 first-time claims, Lexington County 82, Horry County 75, Anderson County 73 and Charleston County 70. A total of 12,250 S.C. claimants were paid an average of $242.94 in benefits for the week of Aug. 8-Aug.14. 

Nationally, 348,000 initial claims were filed, a decrease of 29,000 from the previous week.