Report: Mass job cuts double in Ohio during August

Large-scale job cutbacks in Ohio put more than twice the number of workers in line for unemployment benefits in August compared with a year ago, according to a federal report released Tuesday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 62 dismissals of 50 workers or more in Ohio last month, up from 29 a year ago. First-time unemployment insurance claims hit 7,994, up from 3,064 in August 2007. That’s the fifth-highest number of unemployment insurance filings in the nation, according to bureau data.

Ohio in July also saw insurance claims sparked by mass job cuts more than double as they exceeded 19,400, nearly double the 10,435 seen in July 2007.

Ohio is one of 36 states nationwide that saw unemployment insurance claims increase since last year.

All four geographic regions in the nation saw cutbacks and claims increase, as well, though the Midwest had the most dramatic increase in insurance claims. Those jumped more than 80 percent to 33,238 in the 12-state region, versus 18,319 last year.

Nationwide, mass job cuts and unemployment insurance claims grew more than 40 percent each. The bureau reported 1,772 cutbacks during the month, up 44 percent from 1,228 a year ago. Initial claims grew 43 percent to 173,955 from 121,886, seasonally adjusted.

The bureau plans to release September data on Oct. 22.


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