Coronavirus: Ohio jobless claims remain high, but continue downward trend

COLUMBUS — Claims for unemployment benefits in Ohio continue to trend downward from the heights seen earlier this year at the beginning of the economic impacts caused coronavirus pandemic, according to data released Thursday by the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.

RELATED: Jobless claims fall to 881,000 but layoffs remain elevated

Last week, 18,719 Ohioans filed initial claims for jobless aid, a decrease around 1.5 percent from the just over 19,000 that filed the previous week, ODJFS data shows.

Continued claims also saw a decrease from the previous week, with 339,957 Ohioans filing for a continuation of their benefits. That is a decrease of about 5,000 people filing in comparison to the previous week.

Over $6.2 billion in unemployment compensation has been distributed over the past 24 weeks, according to ODJFS. During the same 24 weeks, over 1.6 million jobless claims have been filed, more than the combined total of the previous four years.

Ohio’s downward trend in jobless numbers follows the national trend. According to the Associated Press, around 881,000 Americans filed for unemployment assistance last week, another decrease from the previous week.

Cox Media Group