OKLAHOMA CITY – Unemployment claims at the state and federal levels alike are returning to typical levels.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported Thursday that during the file week ending March 12, the unadjusted number of initial claims totaled 1,861, an increase from the previous week’s level of 1,555.
The four-week “moving average” of initial claims that week was 1,614. To smooth out volatility in the weekly initial claims data, a four-week moving average is used to assess trends.
For the week ending March 12, the number of continued claims totaled 11,847, a decrease of 158 from the previous week.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims was 12,072, which was 218 fewer than the previous week. It marked the seventh consecutive week that the four-week moving average of continuing claims has declined, OESC spokesman Nick Buscemi said.
Before arrival of COVID-19 in mid-March 2020 and the collapse in the energy industry, triggering massive job losses, no more than 2,000 first-time jobless claims were filed weekly in Oklahoma.
For example, new unemployment claims in March 2019 averaged 1,869 per week, and the seven-week period of Feb. 1 through March 14, 2020, averaged 1,642 first-time claims weekly. But during March of 2021, new claims averaged 7,491 per week, OESC records reflect.
Oklahoma’s unemployment numbers are “an excellent indicator of the strength of our state’s economy,” OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt said.
“As Oklahoma continues to see record-high workforce participation with more than 1.8 million Oklahomans employed, OESC remains focused on providing programs to support those looking for employment and employers,” she said.
One of the programs the agency participates in is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Federal Bonding program, which provides individual fidelity bonds to employers to minimize the risk of hiring hard-to-place job applicants. Employers are encouraged to take advantage of the program and can learn more by visiting oklahoma.gov/oesc/individuals/programs/federal-bonding, Zumwalt said.
Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims for the week ending March 19 was 187,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the previous week’s revised level – and the lowest level for first-time claims in 52 years, since Sept. 6, 1969 – the U.S. Department of Labor reported.
The four-week moving average for the week ending March 19 was 211,750, a decrease of 11,500 from the previous week’s revised average.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 12 was 1,350,000, a decrease of 67,000 from the previous week’s revised level – and the lowest level for insured unemployment in more than half a century, since Jan. 3, 1970.
The four-week moving average was 1,431,500, a decrease of 31,000 from the revised average the week before – and the lowest level since Feb. 28, 1970.
According to the news agency Reuters, the U.S. unemployment rate currently is at 3.8% and per-person job vacancies are at a record high, a combination that’s pushing up wages faster than is sustainable.