More than 1.5 million Ohioans – nearly 13 percent of the state’s population – have received some sort of unemployment assistance since the pandemic began last spring. And some of those people could still be receiving benefits.
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.
Hall says 706,000 Ohioans have received over $7.1 billion in federally-funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. She 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.
Many of those receiving unemployment have been able to get around work requirements that are normally mandated for recipients. But starting this Sunday, December 7, new recipients will have to satisfy the work requirements.
Still, the agency's Bruce Madson explains that requirement can be easily satisfied in a number of ways including applying for a job or posting a resume on the state's employment website. He says there are COVID safe ways to comply with that requirement virtually as well.
And though ODJFS cannot waive the mandate, he adds the agency will be as flexible as possible with this requirement.
