Coronavirus: 34K new unemployment claims in Ohio last week; total claims down nearly 12%

COLUMBUS — New unemployment claims saw another steep decline last week in Ohio, with 34,614 new applications filed, a drop of nearly 18 percent from the previous week, according to new data from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

>>PREVIOUS REPORT: Unemployment claims down 10% in Ohio for week ending May 23

The total number of claims filed, which represents both new applications and continued applications, fell below 600,000 for the first time since the first week of April. The decline in total applications was nearly 12 percent from last week, according to JFS data.

In the last 11 weeks, the department has handled nearly 1.3 million unemployment claims and distributed over $3.5 billion in unemployment compensation payments. Nearly 94 percent of all cases have been processed and around 6 percent are still pending, JFS data shows.

Here is a breakdown of initial claims made by county last week:

• Auglaize: 164
• Butler: 983
• Champaign: 98
• Clark: 312
• Clinton: 100
• Darke: 350
• Greene: 368
• Logan: 124
• Mercer: 185
• Miami: 358
• Montgomery: 1,766
• Preble: 96
• Shelby: 254
• Warren: 491

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