State officials announced that Ohioans filed 4,908 initial unemployment claims and 49,036 continued unemployment claims for the week of June 15.
According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the initial unemployment claims total was 862 fewer than the previous week. Officials said roughly 596 were flagged for “more stringent identity verification,” a move to ensure the claims are not fraudulent.
Meanwhile, the continued unemployment claims total was 180 more than the previous week. According to state numbers, the total number of claims filed from June 15 to June 21 was 53,944.
The state shared the statistics with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Ohio’s unemployment rate in May was 4.9%, higher than the national unemployment rate of 4.2% for the same month. Meanwhile, the Buckeye State’s labor force participation rate in May was 62.7%, slightly better than May’s national labor force participation rate of 62.4%.
Earlier this month, state officials announced that Ohio’s May unemployment rate remained unchanged from April at 4.9%. Additionally, the Buckeye State’s nonagricultural wage and salary employment decreased by 6,500 monthly.
“While Ohio’s unemployment rate and labor force participation rate remained flat in May, at 4.9 percent and 62.7 percent, respectively, Ohio private-sector employers lost 6,300 jobs, primarily in retail trade, hotel, and restaurant industries,” Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, said in a release.
“Private-sector hiring in Ohio was strong through the first four months of 2025, and the May job loss is a step back, particularly as the nation added 140,000 private-sector jobs,” Hederman added. “However, in a small but not insignificant bright spot, Ohio’s labor force participation rate—at 62.7 percent—remains higher than the national average.”
In a statement issued before lawmakers approved a two-year budget, Hederman called on them to use the spending plan to make the Buckeye State more attractive to employers and workers.
“As lawmakers finalize Ohio’s biennial budget, which can improve the state’s economic outlook, the Senate’s proposed flat tax will make the Buckeye State more attractive to employers and workers,” Hederman added. “However, as The Buckeye Institute recommended, lawmakers need to restrain spending to ensure that Ohio can weather these uncertain economic times.”
Ohio Republicans say they did that with the new two-year state budget they approved last week. Among its provisions, it implements a flat income tax.
Additionally, the budget, an amended version of House Bill 96, increased the tax credit for investments in hard-hit Ohio communities from $25 million to $50 million, which proponents said creates a pathway to revitalize struggling communities across the state. The spending plan also allocated $200 million for the Brownfield Remediation Fund to support economic development and contaminated land cleanup.
“Too many communities in Ohio are struggling to revitalize themselves,” state Sen. Jane Timken, R-Jackson Township, said in a release. “Increasing the tax credit for investment in opportunity zones will allow them to rebuild themselves and encourage new residents and businesses to move in.”
Separately, last week, the Ohio Department of Transportation disbursed $8.9 million in Transportation Improvement District Program dollars for 26 projects in 19 counties. The money is from the agency’s Office of Jobs and Commerce.
Officials contend the projects should give access to land ripe for development, improve access to current businesses, and relieve traffic congestion around commercial areas. Officials said the projects should support more than 19,400 jobs and generate private-sector capital investments totaling at least $3 billion.
