The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported 51,125 initial jobless claims to the U.S. Dept. of Labor for the week ending on May 9. That number marks a 16 percent decrease from the week prior, when Ohio reported 61,083 claims.
Over the course of the past eight weeks amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Ohio has reported 1,169,694 jobless claims, which is more than the combined total of those filed during the last three years.
ODJFS says that it has distributed more than $2.4 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 587,000 claimants. The agency has processed 90 percent of the 1,169,694 claims it has received, with 10 percent still pending.
On a national level, nearly 3 million unemployment claims were filed in the United States last week. Roughly 36 million people in the country have now filed for jobless aid in the two months since the coronavirus first began to affect the economy.
Earlier this month, Ohio began the process of reopening its economy, with more than 90 percent of the economy expected to be reopened when personal services and outdoor dining at bars and restaurants are permitted to reopen on Friday, May 15.