COLUMBIA, S.C. — With a startling 6.6 million people seeking jobless benefits last week, the United States has reached a grim landmark: More than one in 10 workers have lost their jobs in just the past three weeks to the Coronavirus outbreak. This, according to our news partner WBTV.
The figures collectively constitute the largest and fastest string of job losses in records dating to 1948. By contrast, during the Great Recession it took 44 weeks — roughly 10 months — for unemployment claims to go as high as they now have in less than a month.
WBTV also reports the job market is quickly unraveling as businesses have shut down across the country. All told, in the past three weeks, 16.8 million Americans have filed for unemployment aid. The surge of jobless claims has overwhelmed state unemployment offices around the country. And still more job cuts are expected.
On a local scale – Governor Henry McMaster has issued an executive order, allowing furloughed employees to receive “COVID-19 Support Payments” from their employers and still qualify for unemployment benefits.
In South Carolina, the Department of Labor has reported that over the last three weeks – of South Carolinians applied for unemployment.
The total number of those who have applied for unemployment over the last three weeks is now up to roughly 185,000. And just in the first week – that number stood at 31,000.
Everyday, our primary objective is to protect South Carolinians, but also must act to protect the state’s economy, McMaster said. “This order does both. It allows our businesses to take care of their employees as best as they can and will help our economy recover from this unprecedented time.”
The order specifically directs the S.C. Department of Employment and Work force to consider a voluntary payment, or series of payments made by an employer to an employee in response to furloughing the employee as a form of severance pay. This means the furloughed employee will not lose eligibility for unemployment benefits.
“Our state’s workforce and employers have never faced a crisis of this magnitude”, Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the S.C. Manufactures Alliance, said.”On behalf of our state’s manufacturing community and the more than 250,000 South Carolinians they employ, I want to thank Governor McMaster for issuing this executive order to provide flexibility for businesses to assist employees during this time of need.”
