Initial jobless claims in South Dakota have once again fallen below the average pre-pandemic average of 200 to 300 weekly claims.

For the week ending June 19, 2021, a total of 199 initial weekly unemployment claims were filed with the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. That is down 107 claims from last week's revised total of 306.

However, the number of continued claims was up from last week. A total of 2,346 people collected another benefits check for the week ending June 12. That's up 381 claims from last week's report. Continued claims are the number of people who are collecting benefits after their initial claim.

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South Dakota's participation in all federal pandemic-related unemployment benefits, including the $300 weekly bonus, will end on Saturday, June 26, 2021. The Department of Labor will continue to pay regular state claims.

A total of $135.5 million in state and federal pandemic-related benefits were paid out for the week ending June 19. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was $160.6 million on June 20. Around $385 million has been paid in state and federal benefits since March 16, 2020.

Nationwide, the number of Americans who lost their job was down slightly from last week. The US Department of Labor reports that 411,000 workers filed an initial claim for the week ending June 19. That's down 7,000 from last week's revised total, but higher than the 380,000 claims that analysts were expecting. A record total of 1,460,000 people filed an initial claim during this same week last year.

Continued claims were down 144,000 from the last report. A total of 3,390,000 people were eligible to receive another benefits check for the week ending June 12. A total of 17,993,000 people received another jobless benefit during this same week last year.

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