South Dakota's initial unemployment claims fell last week according to the latest report from the Department of Labor and Regulation.

The state processed 473 initial weekly claims for the week ending January 30. That's a drop of 107 from last week when 580 claims were filed.

Continued claims, however, were up slightly to 5,291. That's up 375 from last week's total of 4,916. Continued claims represent the number of unemployed people who are eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

The state paid out $1.2 million in benefits, in addition to $1.3 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation. A total of $337.6 million has been paid out since March 16, 2020.

Nationally, initial claims remain elevated due to continued restrictions on businesses in several large states. Fox Business reports that 779,000 Americans lost their jobs and filed a first-time jobless claim.

Continued claims were down to 193,000 from the last report. Around 4.59 million Americans collected a check after their initial claim.

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