It's Thursday, the day when the Federal and state governments release their jobless claims for the prior week.

Unemployment claims were up slightly in the latest South Dakota jobs report but continue to remain far lower than they were during the peak of the pandemic shutdown.

Initial unemployment claims rose 128 over last week, setting in at 504, according to the report from the South Dakota Department of Labor for the week ending September 19.

Dakota News Now reports a slight increase in continued claims or the number of unemployed workers who are eligible for and receiving benefits after an initial claim. An increase of 224 was reported for the week ending September 12 for a total of 6,897.

Labor department officials said the number of claims will fluctuate from week to week during these unsettled times. The typical number of initial claims before the pandemic was around 200 to 300 per week.

South Dakota paid out $1.3 million in benefits. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was $119.7 million on September 20 as reported by Dakota News Now.

Nationally, Fox Business reports another 870,000 workers filed an initial claim, that's up slightly from last week. The number of people who are continuing to receive an unemployment claim fell to 12.6 million.

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