CLEVELAND — The number of Ohioans who have filed for unemployment continues to decrease week to week, but the state says the total number of those who have filed over the last 10 weeks has surpassed the total number for the past three years.
From the week ending May 23, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) reported 42,082 claims filed by Ohioans, bringing the 10-week total to 1,257, 838. The week before, ODJFs reported 46,062 Ohioans filed for unemployment.
Over the last three weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $3.1 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 644,000 claimants. Nearly 93% of the more than 1 million applications have been processed, leaving about 7% pending.
“The only time that Ohio paid out more than $3 billion was in 2009 at the height of the Great Recession, so we're there. That was for the entire year though of 2009 so this year we've paid more than the $3.2 billion in 10 weeks which is kind of, kind of mind blowing," ODJFS Director Kimberly Hall said.
During a testimony to the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday, Hall said the antiquated technology of the ODJFS benefit system has been the greatest challenge for the agency over the last 10 weeks.
“It’s heartbreaking and very frustrating that our system isn't able to deliver for every person that needs help, as rapidly as we would want it to, it's just not agile, in that way," she said.
Before the pandemic, Hall said unemployment claims in Ohio were at their lowest in decades and the agency needed less staff to handle the low amount of claims. However, she said that changed “literally overnight” and unlike the Great Recession, when layoffs came in gradually, the recent layoffs came “in a tsunami,” overwhelming their systems and workers.
Many filers have reported experiencing delays in having their claims processed and especially getting through to call center agents.
Hall said the ODJFS unemployment call center has received more than 7 million calls since the pandemic started, and despite the agency continuing to add more resources to alleviate the issue, she said the agency has only been able to answer less than 40% of those calls.
“By our calculations at peak call volumes for example, we would need upwards of 3,500 agents, which would be almost $150 million, which we know we don't have at the state level if we were to take every call, so that's why we have to rely on automation and technology and keep buttressing the system with smart automated resources,” Hall said.
Hall said ODJFS has also started a process where agents are actively calling filers who have pending claims and addressing those issues. She said the process is in the piloting phase and will be opened up more widely in the future.
ODJFS has also issued more than $647 million in PUA payments to more than 109,000 claimants.
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