COLUMBUS – The number of Ohioans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week was unchanged from the week before, indicating that the state’s recovery from the pandemic-induced slowdown continues at a snail’s pace.
Workers filed 17,531 initial jobless claims the week that ended Oct. 24, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Labor by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. That was less than 0.04% fewer than the week before, when 17,598 first-time claims were filed, a 14% decline from the week before. That reflected the first drop in five weeks.
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Last week’s release was delayed as the agency resolved a data discrepancy.
The number of continued claims, a more accurate indicator of the employment picture, was 0.3% fewer than the week of Oct. 11 but 66% fewer than the number at the peak of the shutdown in the spring.
Over the last 32 weeks, the state has distributed more than $7.1 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 830,000 Ohioans.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 751,000, the lowest since March but a figure that remains historically high and indicates the viral pandemic is still forcing many employers to cut jobs.
The U.S. economy grew at a record 33.1% annual rate last quarter in rebound from virus-caused plunge.