COLUMBUS – Although the number of Ohioans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits rose for a second straight week, the number of those continuing to claim benefits declined, indicating that the state’s economy is still recovering from the sudden downturn brought on by business closings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported 35,623 initial jobless claims to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, about 1,000 more than the previous week but, in a sign that Ohioans are heading back to work, the agency reported 332,681 fewer continued applications for unemployment benefits, the ninth straight week of declines.
A total of 1.4 million initial jobless claims have been filed in Ohio over the last 15 weeks.
ODJFS urges individuals to file their unemployment claims online, if possible.
Nationwide, employers added a substantial 4.8 million jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%, as the job market improved for a second straight month yet remained far short of regaining the colossal losses it suffered this spring.
The U.S. has now recovered roughly one-third of the 22 million jobs it lost to the pandemic recession though, with confirmed coronavirus cases spiking across the Sun Belt states, a range of evidence suggests that a job market recovery may be stalling.
In those states and elsewhere, some restaurants, bars and other retailers that had re-opened are being forced to close again.
Over the last 15 weeks, Ohio has distributed more than $4.7 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 728,000 workers. The department has also issued more than $3.4 billion in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments to more than 378,000 PUA claimants who traditionally do not qualify for benefits.