Federal unemployment extensions in Ohio are provisions granted by the federal and state governments to qualified claimants who have exhausted the full amount of standard unemployment compensation (UC) benefits.
UC recipients can become eligible for unemployment benefits extensions only when the government makes them available, such as during times of high unemployment rates.
Once active, the OH unemployment extension programs will supplement the regular 26-week UC benefits and, depending on the stipulations of the program, provide different amounts of additional weekly payments.
UC beneficiaries can review the eligibility criteria for unemployment compensation extensions in Ohio. The same eligibility requirements set by the standard UC program generally apply for unemployment extensions.
Furthermore, UC recipients will only be able to collect extended payments as long as the state is experiencing adverse economic conditions. After a crisis is averted, the OH federal unemployment extensions will be discontinued.
If you would like to learn more about the programs that grant unemployment extensions in the state, we’ve provided helpful information below.
- Learn About Requesting an Unemployment Benefits Extension in Ohio
- Past Ohio Unemployment Compensation Extension Programs
Ohio Unemployment Resources
Learn About Requesting an Unemployment Benefits Extension in Ohio
Beneficiaries of UC benefits can apply for Ohio unemployment compensation extensions if and when the state initiates the Extended Benefits (EB) program. However, not all UC recipients qualify for unemployment extensions in Ohio.
Currently, the OH Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) does not offer unemployment benefits extensions in Ohio.
The Ohio federal unemployment extensions are generally activated once the rate of unemployment rises beyond six percent. However, this condition may change with future iterations of the EB program.
In the event that EB payments are initiated, the ODJFS will inform workers who are eligible for unemployment continuation and provide them with instructions on how to proceed with the application procedure.
The Extended Benefits program is similar to the standard UC program in several regards, as EB applicants:
- Must resubmit the same information and documents related to their work history.
- Are required to prove their job availability on a regular basis.
- Will continue receiving the same amount of weekly UC payments.
Unemployment beneficiaries who are selected to participate in the EB program are typically eligible for 13 additional weeks of UC payments. In times of extremely high unemployment rates, however, the state may grant an unemployment compensation extension of 20 weeks.
Past Ohio Unemployment Compensation Extension Programs
Apart from the Ohio unemployment extension EB program that operates on a state level, the state has also implemented other programs that have provided federal unemployment extensions in the past.
For instance, due to the extreme rise of unemployment in the U.S. in 2008, the federal government implemented the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program with the goal of providing temporary financial stability to jobless workers.
The EUC program was devised to provide extended unemployment benefits to UC recipients who had exhausted their regular state unemployment benefits. Thus, during the EUC’s active period, unemployed Ohio residents were able to apply for unemployment benefits extensions, which were completely funded by the U.S. government.
The government’s emergency unemployment extension program was structured into four different levels, called tiers, and each level offered a certain number of additional benefit weeks.
This federal unemployment benefits extension program was made inactive at the start of 2014 without a phase-out period, and it has not been activated since.
And in 2020, the federal government initiated the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which ended in 2021.
Last Updated: February 28, 2023