Oklahoma Ranks Third for Fastest Unemployment Rate Rebound with 49.1% Improvement
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that initial claims, continued claims, and the continued claims’ four-week moving average declined while the initial claims’ four-week moving average increased slightly for the week ending Jan. 29.
"Oklahoma continues to be recognized for having one of the fastest economic recoveries in the nation. Most recently, The Center Square reports that Oklahoma is ranked third in the nation for its unemployment rate rebound with a 49.1% improvement from December 2020 to December 2021,” said OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt. “The weekly numbers continue to show a steady overall improvement, as we remain focused on moving our workforce in a positive direction by connecting those looking for work to employment opportunities and improving our services to claimants.”
Weekly Unemployment Numbers for Week Ending Jan. 29
- For the file week ending Jan. 29, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 2,079, a decrease of 62 from the previous week's level of 2,141.
- For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 2,305, an increase of 63 from the previous week's average of 2,242.
- The number of continued claims totaled 12,862, a decrease of 235 from the previous week’s level of 13,097.
- Continued claims’ four-week moving average was 13,289, a decrease of 204 from the previous week's average of 13,493.
Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending Feb. 5 was 223,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised average. For the week ending Jan. 29, the U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2%, unchanged 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.
