About 30,000 laid-off Ohioans last week filed for jobless benefits, pushing the state’s total in the past 18 weeks to more than 1.5 million as the coronavirus outbreak continues to punish Ohio’s economy.

Across the U.S., the number of unemployment claims rose last week for the first time since the end of March, intensifying concerns the resurgent novel coronavirus is stalling or even reversing the economic recovery.

And an extra $600 in weekly unemployment benefits, provided by the federal government on top of whatever assistance states provide, is set to expire July 31. It is the last major source of economic help from the $2 trillion relief package that Congress approved in March.

According to a report Thursday from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 30,138 new claims were filed in Ohio last week.

That’s down from the previous week when 35,422 were filed but pushes the total to 1.52 million — more than the combined total in the state filed during the last three years.

In Trumbull County, 517 new claims were filed, pushing the total to 27,370, and Mahoning County eclipsed 32,000 new claims with the 529 filed last week.

The U.S. Department of Labor released Thursday that more than 1.4 million people applied for jobless benefits last week, marking the first increase since March and 18th straight week that has topped 1 million. To compare, applications pre-pandemic never exceeded 700,000.

In addition, 975,000 people applied for aid under a separate program that has made self-employed and gig workers eligible for the first time.

Gus Faucher, chief economist for Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank, said the increase in new claims is “ominous indication” that improvement the labor market experienced “may be coming to a halt.

“Claims can be volatile, and the one-week increase may only be a blip. But the pace of decline in initial claims has slowed dramatically over the past couple of months, and continuing claims remain extremely elevated,” Faucher said. “In addition, the increase in initial claims coincides with rising coronavirus cases in many parts of the country and new measures in many states to contain the spread of the virus.”

The jobs numbers come as a number of states, including Ohio, have new or widened mask requirements to try to slow the spread of the virus and the resulting effects on the economy.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday announced a mask requirement with exceptions that took effect Thursday evening. Thursday marked the 16th day in a row that Ohio reported at least 1,000 new COVID-19 cases.

Faucher said the rise in initial claims coincides with rising COVID-19 cases in many parts of the U.S. with big jumps in claims in Florida, California and Georgia — all states hit hard in recent weeks by the virus.

The expiration of the $600 in added unemployment benefits Saturday if Congress fails to extend it could lead to a drop in consumer spending in August. Congress is considering extending the benefits, but some are concerned the added dollars could be leading some unemployed to put off returning to work.

Since mid-March, Ohio has distributed more than $5.5 billion in unemployment compensation to more than 757,000 Ohioans. Also, the state has issued more than $4.4 billion in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds to more than 474,000 people not eligible for regular unemployment compensation like self-employed or gig workers.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Initial unemployment claims

in Mahoning County by week

March 15 to 21: 4,560

March 22 to 28: 6,018

March 29 to April 4: 5,021

April 5 to 11: 2,964

April 12 to 18: 2,003

April 19 to 25: 2,075

April 26 to May 2: 1,362

May 2 to 9: 1,051

May 10 to 16: 942

May 17 to 23: 791

May 24 to 30: 665

May 31 to June 6: 816

June 7 to 13: 754

June 14 to 20: 736

June 21 to 27: 796

June 28 to July 4: 622

July 5 to 11: 615

July 12 to 18: 529

Total: 32,320

Source: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services