Ohio Ranks 38th For States Hit Hardest By Unemployment Claims

COLUMBUS, OH — Even as businesses begin to take steps towards reopening, thousands of additional residents in Ohio filed for unemployment benefits last week.

The national jobless rate was 14.7 percent in April, the highest since the Great Depression, and many experts expect it will near 20 percent in May.

Our state had 42,363 people file initial advanced claims for unemployment benefits during the week ending on May 23, based on tracking done by the U.S. Department of Labor. It is an decrease of 4,449 in the same figure from the week prior.

Ohio has a workforce of approximately 5.6 million people, and more than 1.2 million Ohioans have filed for unemployment over the past two months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and ODJFS. The unemployment rate for Ohio in April was 16.8 percent, the highest ever recorded in the state.

Gov. Mike DeWine said he would not tap into the state's $2.7 billion rainy day fund to address budget shortages but would instead make steep cuts to Ohio's Medicaid and public school funds. The governor said he plans to cut $775 million from the state budget before July 1.

Despite the massive economic contraction caused by COVID-19, Ohio hasn't been the state hit hardest over the past two months. Out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Ohio has had the 38th biggest increase in unemployment claims since the start of the coronavirus crisis, according to the personal finance website WalletHub.

To read the full methodology, visit WalletHub’s website.

On a national level, jobless claims have now fallen for eight straight weeks, but about 41 million people have applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March.

However, the Labor Department’s report Thursday shows that they are not all still unemployed. Around 21 million people are currently receiving unemployment benefits.

Read More: 41 Million Have Lost Jobs To Coronavirus