COLUMBUS – The number of Ohioans applying for jobless aid ticked up slightly last week but the total number collecting benefits fell to its lowest level since late November and the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits remained at its lowest level in more than five decades.
Applications for first-time unemployment benefits in Ohio rose by 12.2% to 7,021 during the week that ended May 7, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported Thursday.
The number of workers filing applications for continued unemployment benefits in the state fell for the fourth straight week to just over 33,000 and the total number of applications processed by the agency fell by 4.7% to the lowest level since Nov. 27, according to data the state shared with the U.S Department of Labor.
The four-week average of workers filing initial claims declined by 17.2%, indicating that the downward trend in layoffs is continuing.
The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending April 30 fell to the lowest level since Jan. 3, 1970.
American workers are enjoying historically strong job security two years after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the economy into a brief but devastating recession.