Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the state declined by 20% last week from the previous week’s number, although longer-term trends show claims increasing, according to a government report.
The U.S. Department of Labor said in its weekly report Thursday that 8,500 initial claims for regular state unemployment benefits were filed during the week ending Saturday, compared to a revised total of 10,614 claims the prior week.
Continued claims, those filed after one week of unemployment, also declined by nearly 14%, from a revised total of 35,665 claims the week ending June 5 to 30,761 the following week, according to the report.
But while more current numbers show a downward trend in unemployment filings, the four-week moving average of both continued and initial claims reflect a continuing increase in filings.
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The four-week moving average of continued claims increased for the third consecutive week during the seven-day period ending June 12, climbing 21% from 25,539 the week ending June 5 to 30,846 the following week.
The four-week moving average of continued claims hit a pandemic-era low in the state of 18,583 the week ending May 22. The four-week moving average for continued claims has increased every week since the May 22 low point.
Meanwhile, the number of people filing initial claims under the temporary Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program rose from 63 the week ending June 12 to 122 the week ending Saturday.
PUA is available for gig and contract workers who normally are not entitled to receive regular unemployment benefits.
The number of continued PUA claims, those filed after one week of unemployment, declined slightly from 15,288 the week ending May 29 to 14,732 the following week.
Another temporary federal program for those who have exhausted all of their regular state unemployment benefits, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, saw a slight decline in those receiving benefits, from 33,416 the week ending May 29 to 32,197 the following week.
Those receiving PUA, PEUC or the $300 weekly federal payment will see those benefits come to an end Sunday.
That’s the day Gov. Kevin Stitt chose for the state to opt out of the federal programs with the hope of luring more unemployed people to take jobs.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission has been hosting job fairs throughout the state in an effort to connect employers and employees.
The commission touted its unemployment rate in its weekly jobless report.
“We are pleased to report that the unemployment rate for Oklahoma fell to 4% for May 2021, which is below the national unemployment rate and ranks our state 12th nationally,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC executive director. “We are making great strides here in Oklahoma, but prepandemic in February of 2020 the state’s unemployment rate was at 3.1%. This indicates there is still room for improvement in helping people rejoin the state workforce.
“The agency is continuing to focus on our re-employment efforts to boost the state workforce, especially as federal benefits come to an end effective June 27. We are hopeful that we will continue to see positive movement in unemployment as Oklahomans return to work.”
Nationally, initial claims fell by 7,000 to 411,000 the week ending Saturday.
Continued and the four-week moving average of continued claims also declined, the latter by 55,250 to 3,552,500.
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The press conference was held at the Southern Hills Country Club
