COLUMBUS – Ohioans filed fewer than 17,000 new claims for unemployment benefits during the week that ended Sept. 12, the fourth straight weekly decline and a sign that the state’s economy continues a slow recovery from a near-complete shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The state reported that 16,294 initial jobless claims were filed last week, 9% fewer than the week before and the smallest number since the COVID-19 pandemic began six months ago, according to data released Thursday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Ohioans filed 320,532 continued claims about 41% of the peak number earlier this year. A total of 1.7 million workers have filed initial jobless claims over the last 26 weeks, more than during the last four years combined, the agency said.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to 860,000, a historically high figure that reflects economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak.
The state reported 141,585 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Thursday, 1,067 more than Wednesday with a total of 4,580 deaths.There were 205 fewer active cases than Wednesday.