Another 100,000 file for unemployment in Ohio, total reaches nearly 1 million in 5 weeks

COLUMBUS (WCMH/AP) — Nearly 1 million people have filed for unemployment in Ohio in the past five weeks.  

According to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, 109,369 people filed for unemployment in the state for the week of April 12-18. 

In the past five weeks, Ohio has seen 964,566 people filed for unemployment.  

To put that in perspective, the total for the last five weeks of claims is 249,054 more than the combined total of 715,512 for the last two years.  

Nationally, more than 4.4 million laid-off workers applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week as job cuts escalated across an economy that remains all but shut down. Roughly 26 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the five weeks since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing millions of employers to close their doors.

Over these last five weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $926 million in unemployment compensation payments to more than 376,000 claimants.  

ODJFS urges individuals to file their claims online, if possible, at unemployment.ohio.gov. 

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