A Management Review of the S.C. Employment Security Commission
January 2010
Members of the General Assembly requested the Legislative Audit Council to conduct an audit of the S.C. Employment Security Commission. Our objectives were to:
- Provide a detailed accounting of the revenues and expenditures from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund since 2000.
- Determine the adequacy of the process for notifying state officials of the financial status of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
- Assess alternatives for maintaining the fund’s solvency.
- Examine the unemployment eligibility benefit process for efficiency and compliance with law and policy.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the agency’s programs for assisting claimants in finding work.
In 1936, the General Assembly created the South Carolina unemployment compensation fund, known as the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund. The fund is designed to pay unemployment benefits to eligible unemployed workers. In addition, the agency maintains a database (JobLink) of unemployed claimants and other persons looking for jobs, and assists businesses in filling job openings with applicants registered in JobLink.