The number of Ohioans applying for unemployment claims remains high despite a slight week-over-week decrease in initial filings, according to figures released Thursday.
Ohio's Department of Job and Family Services says 27,750 Ohioans filed initial jobless claims for the week ending November 28. That's an 8% drop from the previous week, but higher than claims filed in the first two weeks of November.
The state also says Ohioans filed 256,776 continued unemployment claims last week, considered a more reliable indicator of the economy's strength. That's a 3% drop from the previous week but above the figure two weeks ago.
The news comes as Ohio remains under a 10 p.m.-5 a.m. curfew and many counties have issued stay-at-home orders as coronavirus cases continue to spike. Hospitalizations for the coronavirus are also at record highs.
Beginning Sunday, new recipients of unemployment benefits will once again have to prove they're actively seeking work – a requirement that's been suspended for most of the pandemic.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Ohio has risen over the past two weeks from 7,280 new cases per day on November 17 to 8,312 new cases per day on December 1, according to an Associated Press analysis of data provided by The COVID Tracking Project. One in every 201 people in Ohio tested positive in the past week.
