COLUMBUS — The state human services agency says it’s continuing to see sky-high claims for unemployment with fraud blamed for part of the new record numbers.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, which oversees the state unemployment claims system, said Thursday that at least 29,000, or about 28%, of the more than 101,000 initial claims for unemployment filed for the week ending Feb. 20 were flagged as potentially fraudulent.
That figure is far above the weekly pandemic-related claims figures that were running anywhere between around 20,000 and around 40,000 for weeks.
The 101,825 initial claims reported this week were 31% fewer than the week before, when 33,000 claims were potentially bogus, but were more than double the number of claims filed during the week of Jan. 23.
Anyone who suspects their identity was compromised and used to file a fraudulent unemployment claim can report it to the agency immediately by visiting unemployment.ohio.gov and clicking the “Report Identity Theft” button or by calling 833-658-0394.
The number of Ohioans who filed continued unemployment claims for traditional and extended benefits, a figure which is considered a more accurate indicator of economic health, increased by 0.04% to 322,542.
Another 235,695 Ohioans received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
Over the last 49 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $8.6 billion in unemployment compensation.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined 111,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 730,000, the lowest figure since late November and the biggest one-week decline since August, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
The sharp drop sharply is a sign that layoffs may have eased, though claims remain at a historically high level.