Employment and Workforce Executive Director Dan Ellzey’s Statement
May 2021 Employment Situation

Columbia, SC – “After four months of nudging in the right direction, this fifth month sees a significant drop as South Carolina moves from April’s unemployment rate of 5.0% to a 4.6% unemployment rate in May,” said S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce Executive Director, Dan Ellzey.

“While this is very good news, and it is exciting to see South Carolina’s workforce engine revving up again, there are more than 80,000 jobs available to people who will no longer be drawing the federal pandemic unemployment funds. Individuals and families will need these jobs and employers are recruiting and anxious to hire.

“There are some important items that we are continuing to remind claimants as we complete this last week of PUA, PEUC, MEUC and FPUC eligibility.

• The governor’s deadline for the end of the federal programs in South Carolina is June 30, 2020, which is a Wednesday. As a result, based upon federal requirements, the last week of unemployment that will be paid under the federal program is the claim week ending Saturday, June 26, 2021.
• Claimant will need to certify the week of June 27-July 3 for the benefits of the week of June 20-June 26. When individuals certify, they are confirming that they were still unemployed the week before. They should also continue to conduct their weekly work searches as part of their eligibility responsibility.
• If a claimant did not finish their 20 weeks of regular state UI before moving to PUA or PEUC, they will be moved back to regular state UI to finish out their weeks when the federal programs end. If there are any additional instructions, these will be sent directly through the MyBenefits portal.”

“Most importantly,” continued Ellzey, “The SC Works system is brimming with opportunity. There are workshops, job fairs, hiring events, skills assessments, and direct connections to local employers. They can help you find work like your previous job or they can look at your past experience and help you find new employment that uses your skills and strengths. The numbers say a lot. People are going back to work. Let SC Works help you be the next success story.”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

1. For a better understanding of how the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics utilizes trained Census Bureau employees to capture critical labor force data each month, you can read the full PDF explanation here: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.pdf.
2. Work search resources can be found on dew.sc.gov as well as the SC DEW YouTube page. Please find links to some of these resources below.

SC DEW YouTube Video: Click link for How to register for SC Works Online Service (SCWOS)                                       

PDF Tutorial: How To Complete The Work Search: Click here for document or follow path on the website: dew.sc.gov -> Individuals Menu -> Find a Job -> Click “SCWOS Weekly Job Searches PDF Tutorial”