COLUMBUS – Initial unemployment claims in Ohio plummeted last week after spiking during the first week of November.
According to data filed with the U.S Department of Labor Thursday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, there were 7.913 first-time claims for benefits, 29.5% fewer than the week before when first-time claims increased by more than 50% from the week before.
Applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs and the latest figures in Ohio are more in line with the rate of claims over the previous weeks. The number has dropped during three of the last five weeks.
Ohioans filed 41,628 continued unemployment claims last week, which was down 4.7% from the week before, though the 49,541 total claims processed during the week was up slightly, compared to the final week in October, according to the department’s latest data.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low 268,000, reflects the labor market’s strong recovery from last year’s brief but intense coronavirus recession.
Ohio’s unemployment rate in September was 5.4%, higher than the national rate of 4.8%.