Horry County’s latest unemployment numbers as the coronavirus economic downturn continues
Unemployment is growing in Horry County, but the latest data indicates the economic downturn is beginning to slow.
Horry County still saw thousands of residents apply for unemployment as the area leads South Carolina in unemployment claims, but the number of claims filed each week is on the decline, according to the SC Department of Employment and Workforce.
In the past week, 7,867 initial unemployment claims were filed in Horry County between April 12 and April 18 down just slightly from 7,930 claims filed the week prior. Earlier this month, Horry County had more than 10,000 initial claims in a one-week period.
South Carolina had 73,116 people apply for benefits in the week ending with April 18. While the number of claims grew overall, this is the first week to see fewer people apply than the week before.
“Our agency is heartened to see the first decrease in initial claims after so many weeks,” DEW’s Chief of Staff Jamie Suber said.
Since March, 341,730 unemployment claims have been processed by the state, according to DEW.
Horry County has seen the highest unemployment claims of anywhere in the state since the pandemic began. Since the beginning of the pandemic in late March, Horry County has had more than 40,000 initial claims filed.
Greenville and Charleston Counties both have seen more than 30,000 initial claims filed in each county, respectively.
These numbers only reflect those who applied for unemployment and not people who are receiving benefits.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 8:41 AM.
