Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a nationwide program created to financially help eligible individuals (also referred to as claimants), who are unemployed through no fault of their own, while they actively search for new work.

The program allows UI recipients to maintain purchasing power, therefore, easing the serious effects of unemployment on individual households, the community and the state. In South Carolina, a UI claim can provide up to 20 weeks of benefits. The average weekly benefit amount is $236. The maximum weekly benefit is $326.

Employers finance the UI program through tax contributions, and DEW is responsible for the collection, accounting and auditing functions of South Carolina's UI tax program. DEW administers the UI program according to guidelines established by the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 41, and South Carolina Code of Regulations, Chapter 47.