These Ohio Companies Announced Layoffs To End 2021

CINCINNATI — Two Ohio companies announced layoffs to end 2021, while first-time unemployment claims jumped statewide.

During the first week of December, both OneTouchPoint and Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. filed notices with the state signaling their intention to layoff a significant portion of their workforce.

Prairie Farms closed their milk processing facility in Marietta and its substations. All employees were laid off on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, according to the letter the company filed with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS).

Similarly, OneTouchPoint in Cincinnati is closing its facility on Western Avenue and laying off 65 employees, the company announced in its state filing. Layoffs started Dec. 1 and will continue through Jan. 31, when the location is shuttered.

The layoffs were part of a larger statewide problem, with unemployment claims rising sharply in December, according to data from the ODJFS.

First-time unemployment claims climbed steadily through the first two weeks of December, hitting 9,337 during the week of Dec. 18. Then claims jumped to 11,955 during the week of Christmas.

Continued unemployment claims rose more modestly, going from 42,310 to 42,654.

Ohio's labor force participation rate (61.3 percent) lags slightly the national average (61.8 percent). Ohio’s unemployment rate in November was 4.8 percent. The national unemployment rate in November was 4.2 percent. Statewide unemployment data for all of December has not yet been released.