South Carolina’s governor on Thursday ordered an end to the state’s participation in all federal COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs, citing workforce shortages. The move will be effective on June 30, whereby the state will opt out of six federal COVID-19 pandemic unemployment programs that it had previously chosen to participate in. Gov. Henry McMaster announced in a statement that the state is currently facing a labor shortage “created in large part by the supplemental unemployment payments that the federal government provides.” “Since the Biden Admin and Congress appear to have no comprehension of the damage being done, the State of South Carolina must take action,” he said. In a letter to South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) Director Daniel Ellzey, McMaster said that in many instances, the payments from the unemployment benefits are “greater than the worker’s previous pay checks.” “What was intended to be short-term financial assistance for …