OHIO — The Buckeye State saw a decline in initial unemployment claims for the week of July 14-20, according to Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

There were 7,662 initial unemployment claims, 1,415 less from the previous week — of those 1,236 were flagged for more stringent identity verification.

However, there was a rise in continued unemployment claims, 1,741 more than the previous week at 46,457.

The total number of claims filed from July 14-20 was 54,119.

In June, the state's unemployment rate was 4.4% compared to the June national rate of 4.1%. Ohio's labor force participation last month was 62.1% compared to the national labor force participation of 62.6%.