Officials say 695,519 people in Ohio filed for unemployment in the last three weeks as the coronavirus pandemic continues to shake the economy.
Ohio's human services agency says that's nearly double the claims filed in all of 2019. More than 226,000 claims were filed for the week ending April 4, making it the second in a row where claims topped 200,000.
Ohio has paid more than $124 million so far to more than 195,000 people who have filed unemployment claims.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted says employers such as grocery stores are looking for more than 33,000 new workers.
