Nearly 30% of Ohio’s jobless claims denied since March

More than 21,000 Ohioans filed for their first unemployment benefits last week, but many of those applicants won’t get checks.

Of the 1.6 million Ohio workers who have sought unemployment help since the coronavirus pandemic started clobbering the economy in March, 410,252 have been denied, according to figures from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Department officials say the denial rate, approaching 30%, is consistent with pre-pandemic figures. (Many of the 1.6 million claims are still being processed.)

Applicants have been turned down for several reasons, including failure to verify their identities, report outside income, or demonstrate that they are unemployed through no fault of their own.

But the most common reason for denial, according to state officials, is the failure to meet monetary standards of at least 20 weeks of full employment and earnings of at least $269 a week.

State officials noted that those who are denied can appeal the denial or apply for federal pandemic unemployment help.

“The vast, vast majority of individuals denied for traditional unemployment will likely be eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance because that program does not have an income requirement,” Job and Family Services spokesman Bret Crow said.

The number of workers seeking unemployment assistance rose last week, both nationally and in Ohio, after several weeks of decline, illustrating that employers are still slashing jobs as the pandemic enters its sixth month.

Nationally, 1.1 million workers sought benefits last week, according to figures released Thursday.

In Ohio, 21,663 workers applied for unemployment help, up slightly from the 20,969 who applied the previous week but a fraction of the 200,000-plus weekly claims filed in late March and early April.

Almost 360,000 Ohioans continue to receive benefits, less than half the number of the spring peak but well above normal rates. Since the start of the crisis 22 weeks ago, the state has distributed more than $6 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 784,000 Ohioans.

Thursday’s figures suggest that despite recent gains as some businesses reopen and some sectors such as housing and manufacturing have rebounded, a growing number of jobs could be lost permanently.

Workers who are receiving assistance are receiving far less because a $600-a-week federal benefit has expired.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to provide $300 a week in federal unemployment aid with money drawn from a disaster relief fund. Twenty-five states including Ohio have said they will apply for the federal money, though they would need to revamp their computer systems to do so.

The continuing stream of layoffs comes against the backdrop of a modest recovery from a deep recession and the pandemic that is still paralyzing much of the economy. Home construction and sales have bounced back. So have auto purchases. But spending on travel, entertainment and many other services remains weak.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.