Ohio’s falling unemployment is good news for many workers — unless you are among the thousands who have been out of a job for a long time. With a 7.7 percent jobless rate, Ohio no longer qualifies for as many weeks of emergency unemployment benefits provided by Congress to help states weather the recession.
That means that 18,600 jobless workers will exhaust their benefits the week ending April 7.
Unemployment benefits — which have been available for up to 99 weeks — will drop to a maximum of 73 weeks, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
And if the state’s unemployment rate remains below 9 percent, the maximum number of weeks available will drop to 63 weeks in September. And the entire emergency federal benefits program is scheduled to end Dec. 31.
At that point, jobless workers in Ohio will be eligible for up to 26 weeks of traditional state benefits.
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