Coronavirus: Unemployment claims rise for first time in weeks

MIAMI VALLEY — After a 10-week continuous decline, continued unemployment claims are up slightly with 429,638 continued claims being filed last week in Ohio, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Continued claims are people that have requested unemployment assistance for more than a week. The week before saw 428,715 people filing for continued unemployment.

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Initial claims also jumped last week with 35,422 people filing for unemployment. The week before had 33,483 initial claims.

Over the last 17 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $5.2 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 747,000 Ohioans, according to ODJFS.

94 percent of the more than one million claims have been processed.

Locally, Montgomery County has followed the downward trend.

The county has seen nearly 900 less filings this week from nearly 22,000 just three weeks before.

Clark County also saw a drop in unemployment numbers over the last three weeks.

Miami County dropped two weeks ago and has remained steady this week.

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ODJFS does not have a definitive answer as to why there has been a rise in filings, said Bret Crow of ODJFS.

Sharon Worley of Centerville said she believes the rise in unemployment is due to a recent rise in COVID-19 cases.

“People are afraid to go out to eat and businesses have to lay off people because they’re not getting any business,” Worley said.

Additionally, more than $4.1 billion in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance payments have been paid out across the state. Those payments, which include the extra $600 weekly per person under the CARES Act, is scheduled to expire on July 25 without action from congress.

Cox Media Group