OESC Closely Monitoring Statewide and National Trends
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that the number of initial claims decreased, while initial claims’ four-week moving average, continued claims and continued claims’ four-week moving average increased for the week ending July 23.
“With the state’s unemployment rate below pre-pandemic averages and continued historic labor force participation rates, we are confident that Oklahoma’s economy remains strong and competitive,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “As we look at national trends in the economy, we anticipate some fluctuation in the weekly claims numbers, similar to what we have seen over the past month. OESC will continue to closely monitor the seasonal and cyclical shifts in unemployment numbers, as well as trends in national payroll jobs, national UI claims data, and monthly data on job openings, hirings and layoffs to ensure that we are well equipped to meet the needs of Oklahomans.”
Weekly Unemployment Numbers for Week Ending July 23
- For the file week ending July 23, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 2,481, a decrease of 198 from the previous week's level of 2,679.
- For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 2,254, an increase of 308 from the previous week's average of 1,946.
- The unadjusted number of continued claims totaled 11,443, an increase of 258 from the previous week’s level of 11,185.
- For the same file week, the less volatile continued claims’ four-week moving average was 11,054, an increase of 132 from the previous week's average of 10,922.
Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally-adjusted initial claims for the week ending July 30 was 260,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 254,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average.
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.
