Unemployment payouts since March 15 near $5 billion

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S.C. initial unemployment claims dropped by almost 2,000 for the week ending Jan. 16 as the total amount of benefits paid since March 15 neared $5 billion.

The S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce has paid out $4.92 billion in a combination of state and federal benefits since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the state in March 2020. For the most recent week, 6,683 initial claims were filed, down 1,952 from the 8,635 filed the previous week.

Since March 15, 2020, 825,538 initial claims have been filed in the state, according to DEW data.

For the week ending Jan. 16, Greenville County saw a state-high 589 claims filed, while Horry County had 580 and Richland County 459. Berkeley County had 401, Spartanburg County 398, Charleston County 344 and Lexington County 290.

Nationally, 900,000 initial claims were filed, down 26,000 from the previous week.

For the week of Jan. 10-16, 103,026 S.C. claimants received an average payout of $223.66.

Last week, DEW began issuing payments to Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimants who had exhausted their 39 weeks of benefits. Earlier this month, the agency began paying extended Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits.