COLUMBUS – More Ohioans applied for jobless aid again last week but the total number of workers collecting unemployment benefits dropped for the sixth week in a row.
Another 8,218 Ohioans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits during the week that ended on May 14, a 17% increase over the week before but the total number of claims process by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services declined by 4.8% as the number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell to a 53-year low.
The four-week average for claims, which smooths out some of the weekly volatility, fell for the fifth week in a row, according to data the state agency supplied to the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.
The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending May 7 fell again and was the lowest number on record since Dec. 27, 1969.