Joblessness: nation’s number up, South Carolina’s down

Nearly 1.5 million Americans filed first time claims for unemployment for the last week.  That’s higher than economists predicted.  South Carolina provided a slither of good news on the workforce front. Thomas Alexander, state senator for Oconee-Pickens, said first time claims across the state were 17,098—some 2,200 fewer than the previous week.  In an in interview with JoAnn Johnson on the Oconee Chamber of Commerce news program, Alexander gave these first time claims for the week for the tri-counties:  Oconee, 235 claims; Pickens County, 373; and Anderson, 800.  The senator also said July 25 is an important date as it is the day that the federal government’s additional jobless benefit to the unemployed will expire.  While that extra payment has helped the unemployed weather COVID-19, there have been complaints that it has proved to be a disincentive for some workers to attempt to regain their old jobs until the benefits runs out.  Alexander doesn’t believe the U-S congress will renew the benefit.