Both initial and continuing claims for unemployment compensation rose last week, another sign of the economy's continued weakness during the coronavirus pandemic, Ohio reported Thursday.
Last week, 38,327 Ohioans filed initial claims for unemployment, a 6% increase from the previous week, which also saw an increase from the week before, the Department of Job and Family Services said.
Continuing claims for unemployment, considered a more reliable indicator of economic health, rose to 274,658 for the week ending December 12, a slight increase from the previous week, the state said.
Since the pandemic began, the human services agency has distributed more than $7.5 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 868,000 Ohioans.
The 7-day rolling average of daily new cases in Ohio has risen over the past two weeks from 7,884 new cases per day on Dec. 2 to 9,236 new cases per day on December 16, according to an Associated Press analysis of data provided by The COVID Tracking Project.
