OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports for the week ending April 9 that initial and continued claims decreased, while both four-week moving averages increased slightly.
“In addition to a significant decrease in initial claims, we are pleased to see continued claims numbers on the decline,” said OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt. “OESC is confident that Oklahoma’s trends of record low unemployment rates will continue and are strong indicators of the strength of our economy. The agency remains committed to serving Oklahomans and improving the workforce through our services, including our employment and training programs. For job seekers on their journey to reemployment, we encourage you to visit our website at https://oklahoma.gov/oesc.html to learn about OESC’s employment and training programs.”
Weekly Unemployment Numbers for Week Ending April 9
- For the file week ending April 9, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 1,936, a decrease of 776 from the previous week's level of 2,712.
- For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 2,464, an increase of 19 from the previous week's average of 2,445.
- The number of continued claims totaled 11,865, a decrease of 302 from the previous week’s level of 12,167.
- Continued claims’ four-week moving average was 11,894, an increase of five from the previous week's average of 11,889.
Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending April 16 was 184,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 177,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's revised average. For the week ending April 9, the U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.0%, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week’s unrevised rate.
The national weekly seasonally adjusted initial claims report is one of 10 components in the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators. To smooth out the volatility in the weekly initial claims data, a four-week moving average is used to assess trends.
