Jobless claims at lowest level in pandemic era

Economy improves, but need for benefits still high, economist says.

The economy is heating up, with the number of national layoffs falling to the lowest level during the pandemic, new U.S. Department of Labor numbers showed Thursday.

In the week ending March 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment benefits was 684,000, a decrease of 97,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the federal government said.

Statewide, Ohioans filed 69,368 initial jobless claims last week, according to statistics from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Of that number, about 7,400 have been flagged for potential fraud, the state said.

The total number of initial or first-time jobless claims filed in Ohio over the last 53 weeks (3,098,318) was more than the combined total of those filed over six years, from 2013 to 2019.

Ohioans filed 330,446 continued jobless claims last week, which was 445,856 fewer than (or about 42% of ) the peak last year, the state said.

The numbers were released the day after the state said it has begun issuing the supplemental weekly $300 payments made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, for claimants in the traditional unemployment program.

Additional weeks of extended benefits, from 24 to 53, also made possible by the act are now available to claim.

“The most recent federal legislation provided straightforward extensions of these programs, which makes them quicker to

Jobless