COLUMBUS – In a sign that Ohio’s economy is slowly reviving after the coronavirus shutdown, the state reported 6% fewer Ohioans applied for first-time jobless benefits last week and the number seeking continued claims continued to decline fell for the 10th straight week.
For the week ending July 4, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported 33,483 initial claims for unemployment benefits to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2,140 fewer than the week before.
The total number of initial jobless claims filed in Ohio over the 16 weeks since Ohio businesses closed and began idling workers is 1.46 million.
Applications for continued benefits have declined by 347,587 compared to the peak in April.
Over the last 16 weeks, the state has paid out more than $4.9 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 736,000 Ohioans. More than 1 million applications have been processed, more than 94% of the applications the agency has received.
The department has also issued more than $3.8 billion in federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments to more than 411,000 workers who historically have not qualified for unemployment benefits, such as self-employed workers, 1099 tax filers, part-time workers, and those who lack sufficient work history.
The state reports 1,150 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday with 61,331 and 3,006 deaths.
More than 1.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a historically high pace that shows that many employers are still laying people off in the face of a resurgent coronavirus.
The persistently elevated level of layoffs are occurring as a spike in virus cases has forced six states to reverse their move to reopen businesses. Those six — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Texas — make up one-third of the U.S. economy. Fifteen other states have suspended their re-openings.
Collectively, the pullback has stalled a tentative recovery in the job market and is likely triggering additional layoffs