Another 6,683 South Carolina residents signed up for unemployment benefits last week, while the state continues to manage a workforce that has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of records for the first time is greater than what the state reported in November and early December.
But it is not clear whether the jump is the result of an increase that occurs every year after the holiday or if it signals a weakening of the economy.
The new candidates have joined more than 170,000 others around South Carolina, who have continued to seek state and federal unemployment benefits since January 2, the most recent date when comprehensive data is available.
Not everyone who signs up for benefits is entitled to payments. But economists use the number of unemployment insurance claims to measure new layoffs and how many people remain out of work each week.
On January 2, 70% of applicants who continued to apply for benefits in South Carolina went through two federal programs.
Approximately 45,400 residents submitted requests for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which offers help to contracted, self-employed employees and so-called temporary workers.
Another 73,900 signed up for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides help to individuals who have already spent their 20 weeks of state eligibility.
Congress extended both programs for 11 weeks in late December, which means that many applicants could qualify for federal benefits until mid-March.
The remaining 51,000 who continued to certify claims until January 2 were seeking to collect through the state’s unemployment insurance trust, which lawmakers replenished with federal dollars last year.
In all, the SC Department of Employment and Workforce said it paid $ 64.4 million last week.
This includes regular unemployment checks of up to $ 326 per week and the extra $ 300 per week that Congress has made available to all eligible unemployment candidates in the country.
Reach Andrew Brown at 843-708-1830 or follow him on Twitter @andy_ed_brown.