Ohio Initial Unemployment Claims Rise as Continued Claims Decline

COLUMBUS — The number of Ohioans filing initial unemployment claims increased during the week ending September 5, while continued claims and total claims declined.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported that 4,314 initial unemployment claims were filed from August 30 through September 5. That was 455 more than the previous week.

Approximately 840 of the initial claims were flagged for additional identity verification to determine whether they may be fraudulent.

Ohioans also filed 35,191 continued unemployment claims during the reporting period, a decrease of 1,747 from the previous week.

Initial and continued filings totaled 39,505, down from 40,797 one week earlier.

Ohio’s unemployment rate stood at 3.4 percent in July, compared with the national rate of 4.1 percent.

The state and national labor force participation rates were both 61.4 percent.

ODJFS works with local workforce development boards to provide employment and training services through 88 OhioMeansJobs centers. Services include job searches, career assessments, résumé assistance and interview preparation.

Unemployment claims may be filed online at unemployment.ohio.gov.

Anyone who believes their identity was used to file a fraudulent unemployment claim should report it through the same website or call 833-658-0394.