COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says the the state will end all participation in federal pandemic unemployment benefit programs by the end of June.
McMaster wrote a letter late Thursday to the head of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce to terminate those arrangements on June 30, 2021.
McMaster claims the change is necessary because of the current labor shortage in some sectors. He claims that's because of the continued supplemental unemployment federal payments on top of the state payments.
This essentially would put the state back to its pre-pandemic unemployment program.
These programs include the following:
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
- Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (EPUC)
- Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC)
- Emergency Unemployment Relief for Governmental Entities and Nonprofit Organizations
- Temporary Federal Funding of the First Week of Compensable Regular Unemployment for States with No Waiting Week
“South Carolina’s businesses have borne the brunt of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," he said in a statement. "Those businesses that have survived – both large and small, and including those in the hospitality, tourism, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors – now face an unprecedented labor shortage."