Of the 147,002 initial jobless claims reported this week of Feb. 7-12, at least 33,000 have been flagged for potential fraud.

Anyone who suspects their identity was compromised and used to file a fraudulent unemployment claim is urged to report it to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) immediately by visiting unemployment.ohio.gov, clicking the "Report Identity Theft" button, and following the instructions.

As an alternative, individuals also may call (833) 658-0394.

The total number of initial jobless claims filed in Ohio over the last 48 weeks (2,563,344) was more than the combined total of those filed during the last five years.

Ohioans filed 307,923 continued jobless claims last week, which was 468,379 fewer than, or about 39% of the peak last year.

That includes both traditional unemployment claims and claims for extended benefits.

In addition, 244,758 Ohioans received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) last week.

Over the last 48 weeks, ODJFS has distributed more than $8.4 billion in unemployment compensation payments to more than 931,000 Ohioans.

ODJFS has issued more than $8.7 billion in PUA payments to more than 852,000 Ohioans.