Greenville, Richland counties each see more than 200 initial unemployment claims

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Initial S.C. unemployment claims for the week ending Aug. 28 fell by 233 with from the previous week, though Greenville and Richland counties each saw claims rise above 200.

First-time claimants filed 1,315 claims for the week of Aug. 22-28, down from 1,548 the week before. Greenville and Richland counties accounted for a combined 420 of those, with 220 initial claims filed in Greenville County and 200 filed in Richland County. 

Spartanburg County saw 160 initial claims filed, with Charleston County had 139 and Horry County 135, according to data from the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. Berkeley County saw 131 initial claims filed and Lexington County 104. 

For the week ending Aug. 28, DEW paid out a total of $5.4 million in benefits as federal unemployment program benefits continued phasing out in the state. Since March 15, 2020, the agency has paid out more than $6.5 billion in benefits and seen 921,297 initial claims filed. 

Nationally, initial unemployment claims fell by 14,000 to 340,000.