PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — New, or initial, unemployment claims declined again in South Dakota, according to the Department of Labor and Regulation.

The DOLR processed 731 new claims for the week ending Aug. 1 which is 77 fewer than the 808 in the prior week.

The latest number of continued state claims is 15,643 for the week ending July 18, a decrease of 957 from the prior week’s total of 16,600. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.

Minnesota had 12,659 new claims, Iowa had 6,765, Nebraska had 2,847 and North Dakota had 1,061. All of those were less than the prior week’s claims. The data is from the U.S. Department of Labor.