South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, one of President Trump’s closest allies, is rejecting the extra unemployment benefits provided by an executive measure from Mr. Trump. The executive measure provided an additional $300 in unemployment benefits per week, but it required states to kick in another $100.
In a statement, Noem said that South Dakota had recovered nearly 80% of its job losses since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Many, many businesses are looking to relocate to South Dakota because of the decisions we made during the pandemic,” Noem said. “South Dakota is open for business – that applies to our business owners and their employees.”
The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation reported Thursday that unemployment claims had increased slightly to 911 claims, up from 775 the week before, according to CBS Sioux Falls affiliate KELO.
After the additional $600 a week in unemployment benefits provided by the CARES Act expired on July 31, Mr. Trump issued executive measures that provided an extra $300 in unemployment, taken from $44 billion of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds for natural disasters.
Mr. Trump’s memorandum makes the additional unemployment payments retroactive to August 1, but the money could take weeks to reach people and amount to less than advertised for some claimants living in states that cannot afford to provide the extra $100.
Congress and the White House have not been able to come to an agreement on a new financial relief bill.
Mr. Trump tweeted on Friday that the first four states — Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana and New Mexico — had been approved for aid.
Grace Segers contributed to this report.