SC reports 3rd lowest initial unemployment claim total since pandemic began VIDEO: SC reports 3rd lowest initial unemployment claim total since pandemic began By Patrick Phillips | April 29, 2021 at 8:57 AM EDT - Updated April 29 at 4:44 PM COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - The stateâs Department of Employment and Workforce reported only slightly more than 3,000 first-time unemployment claims for the week ending Saturday. That represents the third-lowest weekly total since mid-March of 2020 when the pandemic began. Last week, 3,037 South Carolinians submitted their first claim for unemployment. That was down from 4,921 for the previous week, which ended on April 17. Last week was the first week that the work search requirement, which had been waived early in the pandemic, went back into place. As of April 18, SCDEW again requires claimants to complete two tasks to remain eligible for unemployment insurance benefits: