COLUMBUS – The number of Ohioans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell for the first time in five weeks as the pace of layoffs appeared to slow.
The 10,895 initial traditional unemployment claims filed during the week that ended June 18 was 3.5% lower than the week before, according to data the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services shared with the U.S. Department of Labor Thursday.
Ohioans filed 33,283 continued traditional unemployment claims last week, which was 1,600 more than the previous week.
The total number of traditional claims rose by 2.8% to 44,178.
The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out short-term fluctuations, was 6.9% higher than the week before.
Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in May as employers added 4,800 jobs, the seventh consecutive month of job gains.
The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending June 11 was 1,315,000.
That figure has hovered near 50-year lows for months.