You qualify for unemployment benefits in South Carolina if you earned enough wages from a covered employer during a set lookback period, lost your job through no fault of your own, and remain able to work, available for work, and actively searching each week you claim benefits. The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) runs the program, and every one of those pieces has to be in place before a payment goes out.
The Wage Test
Earning a paycheck alone doesn’t make you eligible. Your employer must have paid into the state unemployment insurance tax system, which rules out most independent contractors and self-employed workers. If you were a W-2 employee, your wages almost certainly counted.
DEW then looks at how much you earned during your “base period,” defined as the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 41-27-150 – Base Period File a claim in July 2026, and the base period runs roughly January through December 2025.
To qualify monetarily, your base period wages have to clear three separate thresholds:2SC Department of Employment and Workforce. Benefits Eligibility Requirements
- At least $1,092 in your highest-earning quarter.
- At least $4,455 in total wages across the full base period.
- Total base period wages equal to at least 1.5 times your highest quarter’s wages.
If you fall short under the standard base period, South Carolina will check an alternate base period made up of the four most recently completed calendar quarters.1South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 41-27-150 – Base Period That option can save a claim for someone whose newest job hasn’t yet shown up in the older lookback window.
Non-citizens must also provide valid work authorization documents when they file.
Why You Left Your Last Job
The reason your employment ended drives most eligibility disputes. Benefits are built for people who lose work through no fault of their own, so DEW examines every separation.
Layoffs and Lack of Work
If your employer laid you off because of downsizing, a closure, or simply running out of work for you to do, you generally qualify. The employer made the call and your conduct wasn’t the trigger. These claims move the fastest.
Quitting
Voluntarily quitting disqualifies you unless you had “good cause,” which is a high bar in South Carolina. Good cause usually means a serious workplace problem the employer created or allowed to continue, such as a dangerous work environment, a significant pay cut, or unaddressed harassment. Personal reasons like following a partner to a new city generally don’t count.
If DEW decides you quit without good cause, you remain ineligible until you find new covered employment and earn at least eight times your weekly benefit amount.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 41 Chapter 35 A claimant with a $300 weekly benefit would have to earn $2,400 at a new job to requalify.
Two narrow exceptions exist. You may still qualify if you left work because of domestic abuse and reasonably feared for your safety at or on the way to your workplace. You may also qualify if you left to relocate when your military spouse was reassigned, as long as you separated from your job within 15 days of the relocation date.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 41 Chapter 35
Being Fired
Getting fired doesn’t automatically block a claim. South Carolina separates true misconduct from lesser fault. Misconduct means deliberately disregarding the standards of behavior your employer reasonably expects: willful policy violations, insubordination, criminal activity tied to the job. A misconduct finding brings the longest disqualification.
A second, less severe category covers termination for “cause other than misconduct,” which captures fault-based behavior that doesn’t rise to deliberate disregard, like repeated careless mistakes or performance problems within the employee’s control.4SC Department of Employment and Workforce. Chapter 47 Regulations – Department of Employment and Workforce Partial disqualification still applies, but it’s shorter. In both categories, the employer carries the burden of proving the level of fault.
Severance and unused vacation pay don’t automatically disqualify you, but they can offset benefits depending on how they’re structured. Report any such payments when you file and let DEW apply the rules.
What You Have to Do Each Week
Eligibility isn’t a one-time check. Every week you want a payment, you have to meet ongoing conditions.
You must be physically able to work and available for suitable employment. A medical issue, extended travel, or a personal circumstance that would keep you from accepting a job makes you ineligible for that week. You also can’t place restrictions on the type of work you’ll take that effectively make you unemployable, and you can’t turn down a reasonable job offer without good cause.
You must complete at least two job searches through SC Works Online Services (SCWOS) each week.5SC Department of Employment and Workforce. Search for Work Searches done anywhere else don’t count. DEW audits work search activity, so keep records of every application, including dates, employer names, and how you applied. Missing documentation during an audit can cost you benefits even if you actually did the work.
You must register in SCWOS and, if DEW refers you to reemployment services under its federal profiling program, attend them. Skipping a referral without justifiable cause means losing benefits for that week.
And you have to file a weekly certification confirming you were able, available, and searching. Miss a certification, miss that week’s payment.
Picking up part-time or temporary work while claiming benefits is allowed. You can earn up to 25% of your weekly benefit amount without any reduction in that week’s payment.6SC Department of Employment and Workforce. How Unemployment Insurance Works Earnings above that reduce your benefit dollar-for-dollar. Report gross earnings for any week you physically worked, even if the paycheck hasn’t arrived yet. Not reporting earnings is treated as fraud and can lead to repayment, a benefit suspension of 10 to 52 weeks, and criminal penalties of $50 to $250 and up to 30 days in jail per false statement.7South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 41 Chapter 41
What You’ll Receive If You Qualify
Your weekly benefit amount is 50% of your average weekly wage during the base period, rounded down to the nearest dollar. The minimum is $42 per week and the maximum is $350 per week before taxes, set at two-thirds of the statewide average weekly wage.8SC Department of Employment and Workforce. Weekly Benefit Amount
The total you can collect across a claim is the lesser of 20 times your weekly benefit amount or one-third of your total base period wages.3South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code of Laws Title 41 Chapter 35 If your earnings were modest, you may run out of benefits before hitting the 20-week ceiling.
South Carolina also requires an unpaid one-week waiting period at the start of a claim.6SC Department of Employment and Workforce. How Unemployment Insurance Works You still file a certification for that first week, but no payment comes for it. Benefits start the following week if everything else lines up.
If You’re Denied
A denial isn’t the end. DEW mails a written determination, and you have 10 calendar days from the mailing date to file an appeal.9SC Department of Employment and Workforce. The Appeals Process If the 10th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day. Keep filing weekly certifications while the appeal is pending so that any benefits you win can be paid retroactively for the weeks you were otherwise eligible.