Zeller tracks unemployment claims and other job data for Cuyahoga County and other local governments and agencies. His four-week moving average of new claims filed jumped sharply in the last week of January, to 27,927 statewide and to 7,332 for all of Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Lake, Geauga, Summit, Portage and Ashtabula counties.
In comparison to 2008, the new numbers were startling, as claims rose 72% in Ohio and more than doubled — with an increase of 102% — in Northeast Ohio.