COLUMBUS — The number of unemployment claims filed last week in Ohio spiked by more than 25 times the prior week, according to seasonally unadjusted numbers reported Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
According to the data, 187,784 Ohio residents filed for unemployment in the week that ended March 21.
That’s up 180,738 claims from the 7,046 filed the week ending March 14, according to the department.
Nationally, nearly 3.3 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week, a record number as businesses were forced to shut down to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Ohians have been under a stay at home order since Monday in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and nonessential business forced to close, so claims are expected to continue to rise.
“This large increase in unemployment claims was not unexpected, and results from the recognition by Americans across the country that we have had to temporarily halt certain activities in order to defeat the coronavirus,” U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said.
