The tens of thousands of Southern Carolinians who are out of work and receiving weekly unemployment insurance will have to start proving to the state that they are looking for work from next month.
Amid the flood of job losses brought on by the coronavirus pandemic last year, the SC Department of Employment and Workforce suspended the two weekly job searches that were required by the state to be eligible for unemployment benefits.
A screen capture of the SC Works home page where, starting April 18, 2021, unemployed people in South Carolina will be required to do regular job searches to remain eligible for unemployment benefits.
“Now, a year later, as more and more Southern Carolinians are returning to work and the unemployment rate is consistently falling, it is time to re-establish the job search requirement to help employers and candidates connect,” the executive director of the department, Dan Ellzey, said in a statement on March 26.
Beginning the week of April 18, unemployed people in South Carolina will have to do two things to remain eligible for aid: certify their weekly application and complete two job searches on the SC Works online portal. Applicants must be logged into their account on the website or in the corresponding application when making these searches in order to be counted in the system.
About 87,000 job openings are listed on the website, according to the DEW. About 125,000 South Carolinaians still have unemployment benefits.
Ellzey noted signs of economic recovery in the state of Palmetto, including new employment data released on Friday, which showed another slight drop in the unemployment rate, from 5.3% in January to 5.2% last month.
“Our economy is recovering strongly and, in fact, doing better than most of our neighbors and the nation as a whole,” said Ellzey.
The national unemployment rate was a percentage point higher than that of South Carolina, 6.2%, in February.
All but one job sector recorded losses year after year, with leisure and hospitality still having the largest job deficit, with a loss of 37,700 jobs last year. Public jobs fell by almost 17,000, followed by a loss of 10,400 in the industry.
The trade and transport sector was the only one to show growth year on year. It added about 3,700 jobs last year. This category also grew more from January to February than any other in the state of Palmetto, generating 6,200 jobs that month.
Applicants looking for instructions on how to complete their surveys can consult the DEW video on YouTube or online instructions.