COLUMBUS – The state agency responsible for unemployment compensation benefits has been struggling to deal with the volume of Ohioans trying to apply for benefits as a result of business shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Ohio Department of Job and Family Service Director Kim Hall has been feeling the pressure from her boss and from the public.
During the last two weeks, ODJFS had processed than 470,000 new claims, compared to 7,000 during the second week of March.
A link to a step-by-step guide to help Ohioans applying online for unemployment compensation. The link to the guide is available in the top right corner of the ODJFS unemployment compensation website.
The agency’s online system, previously configured for a typical maximum of 1,200 connections at one time, has now been enhanced to accommodate up to 24,000 simultaneous connections, officials say, and they have reassigned more than 300 employees to assist with call volume on the toll-free line as well.
“That’s not enough,” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted says he told Hall and her staff. “We’ve got to do more.”
More than 95 percent of unemployment claims are now filed online.
Husted reassured new claimants that – even if they experience long delays, their benefits will not be affected.
“Your benefits will be back-dated to the date that you were eligible,” he said during Gov. Mike DeWine’s daily Statehouse briefing Tuesday.
These numbers are expected to continue and ODJFS anticipates an additional surge as self-employed and freelance workers apply for benefits as a result of the federal coronavirus rescue package enacted last week.