Continued unemployment claims decline for 41st consecutive week

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports a continued decline in continued unemployment claims, with the continued claims four-week moving average declining for the 41st consecutive week.

“This past week, we saw an increase in initial claims and the initial claims 4-week moving average. To address this, OESC is taking proactive measures and placing priority on helping Oklahomans get back to work,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “In addition to the ongoing employment programs we provide, we are excited to announce that we will be hosting large career fairs in various locations across Oklahoma in May. We will provide more details as plans are finalized.”

OESC also reports that the agency continues to make significant progress in adjudication resolutions, continuing to decrease the number of claims in adjudication.

“As an agency, we have worked hard to streamline the adjudication process, with less than 2,200 cases currently in adjudication, an improvement of 90% since December 2020,” said Zum walt. “Our team’s dedication shows our commitment to continuous improvement at the agency.”

Weekly Unemployment Numbers for Week Ending April 3

For the week ending April 3, the advance number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 11,894, an increase of 1,537 from the previous week’s revised level of 10,357.

Initial claims’ four-week moving average was 9,704, an increase of 1,205 from the previous week’s revised average of 8,499.

The advance unadjusted number of continued claims totaled 28,308, a decrease of 4,060 from the previous week’s revised level of 32,368.

Continued claims’ fourweek moving average was 31,683, a decrease of 1,557 from the previous week’s revised average of 33,240.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims during the same period was 744,000, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor reports. The fourweek moving average was 723,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week. For the week ending March 27, U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6%, unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised rate.

The national weekly seasonally adjusted initial claims report is one of 10 components in the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators. To smooth out the volatility in the weekly initial claims data, a four-week moving average is used to assess trends.

Claimant Resources

Individuals seeking unemployment benefits should go to https://ui.ok.gov and create an account with the Get Started button to connect their social security number and pull all unemployment information into one location.

Unemployment claimants should be aware that not returning to work when recalled or when work is available could potentially lead to disqualification from receiving unemployment benefits.

Employers may report this activity by emailing returntowork@oesc.state. ok.us, calling 405-962-7524, or mailing OESC at P.O. Box 52006, Oklahoma City, OK, 73152-2006.

If a claimant returns to work full time, they should keep their unemployment claim open with OESC and not certify a weekly claim. If they return part time, a claimant may continue to certify their weekly claim and must report all gross earnings for the week to potentially receive a partial benefit. Eligibility for continued benefits is determined on the circumstances of each individual claimant.

OESC is an excellent resource for people looking to re-enter the job market by connecting Oklahomans with available employment through https://okjobmatch. com/.

If a PUA-eligible claimant reopens their business, they will still receive backdated unemployment benefits to when their COVID-19-related job loss or business closure occurred.