COLOMBIA, SC (WCSC) – The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has said it will re-establish the necessary job searches to maintain eligibility for unemployment benefits starting next month.
Beginning the week of April 18, claimants will be required to do two things each week to remain eligible: certify their weekly claim by stating why they remain unemployed in the SCDEW app and complete two job searches on the SC online services portal Works or SCWOS application.
“The two weekly job searches are easy to do, on your computer or on the SCWOS smartphone app, but it is imperative that job searches are performed while they are logged in to your account to ensure that the SCWOS system confirms with the system complainant that the individual has completed this requirement to remain eligible for benefits, ”said Dan Ellzey, SCDEW Executive Director.
Applications are available for download free of charge.
Ellzey made the announcement on the same day that his agency released February’s unemployment data, which showed a tenth point drop in the unemployment rate compared to January.
The state’s unemployment rate in February was 5.2%, Ellzey said, up from 5.3% in January.
“This is encouraging economic news for the state of South Carolina,” he said. “Our economy is recovering strongly and, in fact, doing better than most of our neighbors and the nation as a whole.”
He said he was confident that the actions taken by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and state lawmakers put the state in a position to complete its economic recovery. But, he said, there are some problems.
“Currently, 125,000 people in South Carolina are receiving unemployment insurance each week. At the same time, employers have 87,000 open positions they are trying to fill, ”he said. “In recent months, we have regularly communicated to jobseekers about job vacancies and the benefits of a job and medical coverage against unemployment.”
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