The number of people filing unemployment claims fell last week across the country but grew in South Dakota.
Within the state, 5,389 people sought benefits. That’s up 94 claims from the prior week, and it ends a two-week run of lower claim numbers.
South Dakota officials expected the increase. The new numbers include the first full week of eligibility for additional kinds of workers, including self-employed people, independent contractors and freelancers.
Not all states have implemented the new federal eligibility rules yet. That could be a factor in national unemployment claim numbers. They’ve declined four weeks in a row but still totaled 3.8 million last week.
Since the pandemic began, about 34,000 South Dakotans have filed for unemployment benefits. Nationally, the number is about 30 million.
Benefits come from state trust funds that are supported by taxes on employers. The balance in South Dakota’s trust fund was $132 million at the start of the pandemic. The balance now stands at $109 million.
Congress is also providing payments to unemployed workers during the pandemic. That money is paid in addition to the state benefits.
-Seth Tupper is SDPB's business and economic development reporter