OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) recently reported a decline in continued and initial unemployment claims. The four-week moving average of continuing claims declined for the 35th consecutive week.
“The decline in both the continued and initial claims four-week moving averages for 35 weeks is a positive indicator of Oklahoma’s continued recovery and commitment to re-employment for our citizens,” OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt said. “Many states have not seen this steady decline, and our state is doing the work that needs to be done to support Oklahoma’s economy.”
ADJUDICATION
OESC has worked for several months to resolve cases in the adjudication process, Zumwalt said.
Since the start of the pandemic almost year ago, OESC has experienced a significant increase in cases that have to be handled through adjudication, “which is the required legal process for OESC to ensure the legitimacy and accuracy of a claim,” she said. The agency now has fewer than 10,000 claims in adjudication and has decreased the resolution time for this process by more than 50%, she said.
“A 50% decrease in the adjudication process timeline is a significant milestone, but we are not resting, and we will continue to improve this process for claimants,”
Zumwalt vowed. “Throughout the pandemic the agency has placed priority on stream-lining any process where we see bottlenecks that impact claimants and work to make changes to expedite solutions as quickly as possible.”
JOBLESS NUMBERS FOR WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 20
• For the week that ended Feb. 20, the advance unadjusted number of initial claims totaled 4,768, a decrease of 2,006 from the previous week.
• The four-week moving average of initial claims was 6,603, a decrease of 371 from the previous week.
• The advance unadjusted number of continued claims totaled 28,569, a decrease of almost 5,500 from the previous week.
• The four-week moving average of continued claims was 34,161, a decrease of 2,427 from the previous week.
Although the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply, in a sign that layoffs may have eased, applications for aid remained at a historically high level.
Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims during the same period was 730,000, a decrease of 111,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
That was the lowest unemployment figure since late November and the sharpest one-week decline since August. However, before the coronavirus erupted in the United States last March, weekly applications for unemployment benefits had never topped 700,000.
According to the Associated Press, 19 million people were receiving unemployment aid as of Feb. 6, up from 18.3 million the previous week. About three-quarters of those recipients were receiving checks from federal benefit programs, including programs that provide jobless aid beyond the 26 weeks given by most states.
1099-G HOTLINE
The Employment Security Commission has a dedicated hotline and online Virtual Agent to assist Oklahomans who have questions regarding 1099-G tax forms they received from OESC for unemployment benefits they received last year.
“We have proactively established a dedicated team and resources to help Oklahomans with their 1099-G tax form questions and find a resolution,” Executive Director Zumwalt said. “Receiving a 1099-G form can be a normal process in reporting yearly taxes, but we understand there will be unique challenges for many in filing taxes this year. We have set up these resources to address concerns, including those who may not have received their form.”
Oklahomans can call 405- 521-6099 or visit the Employment Security Commission (oklahoma.gov) website and utilize the Virtual Agent feature found at the bottom right of the screen.
If an individual believes he/she is a victim of identity theft, in addition to contacting the OESC hotline or Virtual Agent the individual should also file a police report with the local police department, file a report with the Attorney General’s office at https://www.oag.ok.gov/ coronavirus-fraud-resources, and follow the detailed steps the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has provided at https:// www.irs.gov/identity-theft- fraud-scams/employment- related-identity-theft.
“While there is a small percentage of recipients who may be victims of fraud or who need further assistance, we know it’s critical to get questions answered and issues resolved quickly, especially as Oklahomans are working to submit their taxes in a timely manner,” Zumwalt said.