The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports a continued decline in both initial and continued claims and a decline in both four-week moving averages.

“For six consecutive weeks, we have seen the continued unemployment claims’ four-week moving average decline,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “The four-week moving average is a trusted way to gauge our state’s progress with unemployment, and we are continuing to see recovery week-to-week. We are hopeful that we will continue to see progress in the coming months as the agency remains focused on connecting claimants to workforce opportunities.”

Weekly Unemployment Numbers for Week Ending Aug. 28

For the file week ending Aug. 28, the number of initial claims totaled 2,676, a decrease of 470 from the previous week’s level of 3,146.

For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims four-week moving average was 3,412, a decrease of 214 from the previous week’s average of 3,626.

The number of continued claims totaled 25,275, a decrease of 2,274 from the previous week’s level of 27,549.

Continued claims’ fourweek moving average was 28,069, a decrease of 1,104 from the previous week’s average of 29,173.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending Sept. 4 was 310,000, a decrease of 35,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor reports. The fourweek moving average was 339,500, a decrease of 16,750 from the previous week’s revised average. For the week ending Aug. 28, U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.0%, 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/.

Individuals who filed for unemployment between May 2-15 and who work two part-time jobs or one full-time job of 32 hours or more per week for six consecutive weeks are eligible for the governor’s Back to Work Initiative. Eligible Oklahomans can apply at https://oklahoma.gov/oesc/individuals.

Claimants looking for work who need child care assistance are encouraged to use the Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ (OKDHS) 60 days of subsidized child care by visiting https://okdhslive.org/.