COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans filed 8,218 initial traditional unemployment claims last week, which was 1,197 more than the previous week, the state reported Thursday.

Approximately 3,244 of those have been flagged for more stringent identity verification, to ensure they are not fraudulent.

Ohioans filed 30,228 continued traditional unemployment claims last week, which was 3,144 fewer than the previous week.

The total number of traditional claims filed from May 8-14 was 38,446.

Ohio’s unemployment rate in March was 4.1%. The national unemployment rate in March was 3.6%.

Ohio’s labor force participation rate in March was 61.7%. The national labor force participation rate in March was 62.4%.