COLUMBUS, Ohio - More Ohioans filed for unemployment in one month during the coronavirus outbreak than the number who filed for jobless benefits in two years.

That’s according to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services that reported for the week ending April 11, 2020, 158,678 initial jobless claims were made to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. The number of initial jobless claims filed in Ohio over the last four weeks stands at 855,197.

To put that in perspective, the total for the last four weeks of claims is 139,685 more than the combined total of 715,512 for the last two years, according to ODJFS.

That amounts to more than $227 million in unemployment compensation being distributed over the last four weeks to more than 271,000 people.

Responding to criticism from people having difficulty who are trying to file for unemployment, ODJFS says it is hiring more people, working longer hours and adding more technological capacity.

Call center operations have been expanded to seven-days-a-week with nearly 1,200 staff members taking calls.

The state says it plans to launch a virtual call center by the end of next week.

ODJFS says all eligible Ohioans will eventually receive their unemployment benefits - and any delays in processing their claims will not reduce the amount received.

Filing for Unemployment Step-by-Step Guide: http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/pdf/QuickTipsAndStepByStepGuide.pdf

Those without internet access can call 1-877-644-6562 (OHIO-JOB) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sundays.