OKLAHOMA CITY — First-time claims for unemployment benefits in Oklahoma the week of March 4 plummeted by 26%, to the second-lowest level recorded in 36 years, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission ledgers that date back to 1987 show.
Initial jobless claims filed the week of March 4 plunged to 843, which was 296 fewer than the week before and was the lowest number since Oct. 28, 1989, when 184 claims were counted. And the 1,139 first-time claims logged the week of Feb. 25 were 588 fewer than the week before that.
In total, the number of Oklahomans filing for unemployment benefits dropped by 884 in a two-week period.
Also, the number of continuing claims the week of Feb. 25 declined to 10,291, which was 282 fewer than the week before.
Nationally, hiring has cooled somewhat but remains robust. Employers added 311,000 jobs in February and 504,000 in January, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. According to the DOL, more people aged 25-54 have entered, or re-entered, the job market lately.
Interestingly, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee last week that higher interest rates intended to tamp down inflation may not result in a downturn in the U.S. labor market.
The Federal Reserve, this nation’s central bank, has raised its benchmark interest rate eight times since last March – most recently by another 0.25% on Feb. 1, to 4.625% – in an attempt to rein in the job market and contain inflation. Market watchers expect the Fed to raise the rate again on March 22.