Nearly 13 percent of the state’s population has received some sort of unemployment assistance since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And some of those people could still be receiving benefits. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles explains.
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Director Kim Hall says 853,000 Ohioans have received $7.4 billion dollars worth of traditional unemployment payments since the pandemic began.
“We have processed more than 95% of traditional unemployment claims and the only ones pending are those that have complexities that require more attention or more newly filed claims that have just come in.”
Hall says 706,000 Ohioans have received over $7.1 billion in federally-funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Hall says some people might be exhausting their benefits but urges them to check to see if they might be eligible for additional benefits due to the pandemic.