Ohio sees fewest new unemployment claims in recent weeks

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio has noticeably fewer people filing for unemployment benefits as of Thursday, but the story is not the same for people already on the government program.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released data for the last week of July, which showed only 7,615 people filed new jobless claims. Comparing to the week of July 9, the state saw 14,724 new unemployment claims, which was the highest number in eight weeks.

The recent number of people on their second or a longer string of unemployment claims remained closer to the early July data. While 35,077 people had filed again during the week of July 9, ODJFS reported 33,373 people were still on that list into August.

Ohio is trending slightly above the U.S. in its unemployment rate and slightly lower on labor force participation. ODJFS reported a 3.9% unemployment rate for June while the nation reported 3.6%. On the labor force, Ohio had 62% participation while the national labor force participation rate was 62.2%.

The department also included a note alongside its unemployment data, encouraging anyone looking for a job to visit its OhioMeansJobs website. It claimed to have 219,165 jobs available when checked Thursday morning, and the site allows candidates to search for jobs by job title, skill or company.