COLUMBUS – The number of Ohioans filing initial unemployment claims fell for the first time in three weeks as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and an ongoing virus pandemic.
Ohioans filed 12,599 first-time claims for jobless benefits during the week that ended March 19, 6.4% fewer than the week before, according to data the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services shared with the U.S. Department of Labor Thursday.
The number of continued claims declined by 2.8% and the total number of traditional claims was 3.6% lower than the previous week.
Nationwide, jobless claims fell by 28,000 to the lowest number since September of 1969, the Labor Department reported.
First-time applications for jobless aid generally track the pace of layoffs but the four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, also fell to levels not seen in five decades.
The four-week average of weekly claims in Ohio remained virtually unchanged.