Lexington County had only 492 unemployment claims since mid-March.

SC's weekly initial claims fell for the 2nd time after falling below 13,000 for the 1st time in 19 weeks.

8,909 claims filed for the week ending Aug. 1 was the 3rd straight week of decreases.

It was a decrease of 3,285 from the previous week when 12,194 claims were filed.

In the last 20 weeks, 706,528 initial claims have been filed in the state.

The Department of Employment and Workforce has paid more than $3.68 billion in state and federal benefits.

Richland County had a state-high 804 claims in the week ending Aug. 1.

Greenville County had 790 and Charleston County 536.