OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill that reduces the amount of time Oklahomans could collect unemployment benefits will “effectively end unemployment tax increases on Oklahoma businesses,” its authors said last week.
House Bill 1933, by Sen. Zach Taylor, R-Seminole, and Rep. Ryan Martinez, R-Edmond, would index state unemployment benefits, adjusting them based on the number of weekly claims. The measure cleared the state Senate last week and is set to be heard by the House of Representatives.
The change, Taylor said, would mean that individuals would qualify for more weeks of benefits when the economy is performing poorly and fewer weeks of benefits when the economy is strong.
“Lower unemployment taxes allow employers to hire more people and increase wages – a critical component to help address the state’s dire workforce shortage,” Taylor said in a media statement. “Indexing benefits would lower unemployment insurance tax rates from $2.80 to $1.90 per $1,000 of wages in just five years while increasing Oklahoma’s unemployment insurance fund by $324 million in just three years. That’s smart business sense I believe all Oklahomans should be able to get behind.”
The bill, which was amended in the Senate, would reduce the number of weeks an unemployed person could claim benefits from 26 weeks to 16 weeks. The measure has drawn opposition from the Oklahoma Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank in Tulsa.
“House Bill 1933 would drastically reduce the length of time laid-off workers may draw unemployment benefits — would weaken our economy, threaten families’ financial security, and fail to get more Oklahomans back to work,” a post on the organization’s website said.
Because the bill ties the duration of unemployment insurance benefits to Oklahoma’s average weekly unemployment insurance claims over a period of thirteen weeks, it “would shorten the duration of benefits when unemployment is low and lengthen it when unemployment is high,” Josie Phillips, an analyst for the organization wrote.
Data from the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission shows that claims for unemployment benefits have dropped in all categories.
As of April 16, the number of initial claims stood at 1,778, a decrease of 158 from the previous week. The OESC said the four-week moving average was 2,343, which was down by 121. In addition, the number of continued claims totaled 11,419, which was a decline of 446. The four-week average for continued was 11,843, a decrease of 51 from the previous week.
“We are encouraged to see the state turn a corner and once again have unemployment rates decline in all reporting categories. These improvements are further proof that Oklahoma’s workforce is one of the strongest in the nation,” said OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt. “At the heart of our strong economy and low unemployment rates are Oklahoma businesses that continue to grow and offer new job opportunities.”
Taylor and Martinez said estimates show that unemployment claim dependency could drop by 35 percent in four years, meaning that the average time a person was claiming unemployment benefits would drop from 13.4 weeks to 8.7 weeks.
Martinez said the measure strengthens Oklahoma’s unemployment system.
“(The bill) ensures our rates remain reasonable and that when benefits are needed, they are there,” he said. “It also helps incentivize Oklahomans to return to the workforce filling the large number of job openings that currently are available.”