OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission ended 2022 on a high note: first-time claims for jobless benefits filed the week ending Dec. 31 numbered 1,162, the ninth lowest count for the year and 283 fewer than the week before.
Similarly, the unadjusted total of 1,445 initial unemployment claims filed with the OESC the week of Dec. 24 was 41 fewer than the previous week. Continuing claims filed in the next-to-last week of December numbered 9,994, a decrease of 101 from a week earlier.
Nationwide, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims submitted in the final week of 2022 was 204,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level and the lowest level in more than three months, the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Jan. 5.
Approximately 1.69 million Americans received jobless aid the week that ended Dec.24; that number was about 24,000 fewer than the week before.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, compared to 263,000 jobs created in November, and the unemployment rate edged down from 3.7% to 3.5% – matching a 50-year low – the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Jan. 6.
Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, healthcare, construction, and social assistance, the agency reported.
Healthcare employment increased by 55,000, including additions of 30,000 in ambulatory healthcare services, 16,000 in hospitals, and 9,000 in nursing and residential care facilities, ledgers show. “Job growth in healthcare averaged 49,000 per month in 2022, considerably above the 2021 average monthly gain of 9,000,” the BLS said.
Employers added 4.5 million jobs in 2022 – the second-strongest number in 82 years, according to records dating back to 1940.
Some industries still face a shortfall of workers after a number of employees left their positions or were laid off during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Some jobs haven’t come back as quickly as we hoped,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategy director for U.S. Bank. “The economy remains under unique constraints and there are still areas where we are not yet back to normal.” This is evident in several industries, particularly in the services and healthcare sectors, where many jobs remain unfilled relative to pre-pandemic highs, he said.
There were 10.46 million job vacancies on the last day of November, down slightly from 10.51million in October. However, there are still nearly 1.8 jobs for every unemployed person, whereas prior to the pandemic there were usually more unemployed people than jobs.
The labor force participation rate, which hasn’t changed much in recent months, inched up from 62.2% in November to 62.3% in December, the BLS reported.
Unemployment rates continue to hover near historic lows and indicate a job market that is still robust despite efforts of the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve, to rein in inflation and cool the economy by raising interest rates seven times last year.