South Dakota Unemployment Claims Continue to Fall

South Dakota unemployment numbers continue to drop in the latest report released on Thursday, June 25.
The state is bouncing back from historically high unemployment claims due to COVID-19 related shutdowns.

In the South Dakota Department of Labor report, continued unemployment claims fell to 18,649 for the week ending on June 6.  That's down almost 1,000 from the previous week.

As reported by Dakota News Now, continued unemployment claims indicate the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

As for initial claims for the week ending in June 20, they fell to 857, a drop of over 200.

However, there is still much room to go before the state returns to the normal levels of around 200-300 weekly claims.

According to numbers released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Dakota's unemployment rate fell from 10.9% in April to 9.4% in May.

Looking at national statistics, the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits dropped to about 1.5 million last week.  That's the 12th week in a row with a reported decline.

According to numbers from the federal government, the country's unemployment rate topped out at 14.7% in April, its highest level since the Great Depression.