OHIO — Unemployment claims saw a slight drop in continued claims; however, there was a rise in initial claims filed in Ohio last week.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said for the week of Sept. 15 to Sept. 21, there were 5,575 initial unemployment claims filed — 548 more than the previous week. Of those, 698 have been flagged for identity verification to confirm they are not fraudulent.

For continued claims, Ohioans filed 38,811 for the same week. This was 264 less than the previous week.

From Sept. 15 to Sept. 21, Ohio saw 44,386 claims filed.

In August, the Buckeye State's unemployment rate was 4.5% while the national rate was 4.2% for the same month. Labor force participation rate for August was 62.3% for the state compared to the country's 62.7%