Unemployment Claims Numbers Signal Return to Pre-pandemic Environment

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that initial claims, continued claims and both four-week moving averages increased for the week ending Jan. 8. Oklahoma continues to report pre-pandemic numbers, even with these increases. 

“As we move into 2022, continued claims numbers are lower than pre-pandemic claims, which indicates the strength of our economy and the continued recovery from the unprecedented past two years,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “When comparing the current continued claims’ four-week moving average to March 2020 before the surge in unemployment numbers, today’s reported numbers are 20% lower than before the pandemic. We believe the increases we have seen in the last couple of weeks could be reflective of a return to a pre-COVID environment where we will see seasonal patterns that impact week-over-week numbers with increases and decreases. We will continue to place priority on pursuing opportunities that bolster Oklahoma’s workforce and connecting those searching for jobs with employers who have opportunities available.”

• 2,760, an increase of 934 from the previous week's level of 1,826. 
• For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was  2,266, an increase of 248 from the previous week's average of 2,018.
• The number of continued claims totaled 14,177, an increase of 498 from the previous week’s level of 13,679.
• Continued claims’ four-week moving average was 13,540, an increase of 44 from the previous week's average of 13,496.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending Jan. 15 was 286,000, an increase of 55,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 231,000, an increase of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised average. For the week ending Jan. 8, the U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2%, an increase 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.