COLUMBUS – First-time claims for unemployment benefits in Ohio and across the nation climbed for the first time in a month.
Ohioans filed 15,109 initial traditional unemployment claims last week, a 55% jump over the previous week and the first increase since Jan. 8, according to data the state provided Thursday to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Jobless claims nationwide rose by 23,000 following three straight weeks of declines.
Ohioans filed 59,673 continued traditional unemployment claims, 3% more than the week ending Feb. 5 while the total number of traditional claims filed last week was 15.2% higher than a week earlier.
The four-week national average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, fell for the second straight week after rising for five straight weeks as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spread, disrupting business in many parts of the U.S.
Fewer than 1.6 million Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended Feb. 5.