Ohio Unemployment Remains Steady in August

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Ohio continues to buck a national trend of job gains after the latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services showed the state lost jobs in August.

According to figures released from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state’s unemployment rate was unchanged from July to August at 4.5%. The labor force participation rate was also steady at 62.3%.

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Foundation Says Breach of Unemployment Claimants’ Data Causes Loss of Public Trust in Ohio Government

With the data breach exposing the information of unemployed Ohioans, one foundation is saying that the government’s failure to address known flaws with the benefits system means the public has lost trust in the state.

Deloitte Consulting is handling pandemic unemployment assistance claims for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. At least 130,000 independent contractors who filed 1099 forms but have not yet received benefits had their information, including addresses and social security numbers exposed on the Deloitte system, WLWT reported.

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Ohio Reevaluating Policy About Ohioans Who Refuse to Work Amid Coronavirus After a Recent Hack on Its Unemployment Website

Ohio officials are rethinking the policy of removing unemployment benefits for workers who refuse to work during the COVID-19 ordeal, according to the cleveland.com.

On Friday, VICE reported someone hacked into the state’s unemployment benefits system website. This hack allowed people to send “junk data” to part of the website where employers “can report employees who quit or refuse work when it is available due to COVID-19.”

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Ohio Jobs Report: A Strong Year Ends on a Dismal Note

While 2018 was, overall, steady for job growth, the year ended on a sour note for the Buckeye State. The Ohio jobs report for December 2018 has been released and it appears to have been a disappointing month. While unemployment remained at an unchanged 4.6 percent from November to December, the number of unemployed increased by over 2,000. This is in contrast to an overall gain of more than 16,000 jobs in 2018. Some business sectors were hit harder than others. The private sector lost 500 jobs and, surprisingly, 4,300 jobs were lust in the retail market during the Christmas season. While the aggregate numbers still represent an improvement, they’re frustrating for many as the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.9 percent during that same time period. The disappointing numbers also pointed to a greater issue. Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center noted: Of continuing concern is Ohio’s labor force. The unemployment rate only fell slightly this year from 4.9 percent to 4.6 percent, while the labor force actually shrunk. This comes after United Van Lines released their annual report, which found more Ohioans had moved out of the state than moved into the state. If…

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