COLUMBUS – The unemployment figures for Ohio released Friday paint a stark picture of the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the state’s economy.
Ohio’s unemployment rate in December was 5.5%, equal to its pre-pandemic level and down from 5.7% in November, according to data released Friday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
However, preliminary figures from the agency show that, between December 2019 and last month, 350,200 jobs were lost as employers closed their doors and Ohioans stayed home to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, which has affected nearly 850,000 residents and has left more than 10,000 dead.
Official employment data will be revised later this year.
Hardest hit was the hospitality industry, hammered by bar and restaurant closings and stay-at-home orders. That sector of the economy lost 125,400 jobs.
In mid-March, as Gov. Mike DeWine shut down schools, businesses, offices and manufacturers, over 274,000 workers applied for first-time jobless benefits in one week alone. The unemployment rate ballooned from 5.5% in March to 17.3% in April as more than 1 million Ohio workers were idled.
Employment decreased 11,500 last month, leaving 5.2 million workers still on the job, compared with 5.6 million in the first months of the year.
The number of unemployed workers grew by 78,000 during the year to 315,000 with 274,460 Ohioans claiming continued jobless benefits in the week that ended on Jan. 2. Many workers had exhausted state and federal benefits.
The December 2019 unemployment rate was 4.1%.