Oklahoma's Workforce Participation Level Among Highest in State History

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that the continued claims’ four-week moving average decreased, while continued claims, initial claims and the initial claims’ four-week moving average increased for the week ending May 28.

“Oklahoma’s economy continues to flourish with low unemployment rates and high workforce participation. We have 1,817,175 people participating in the state’s workforce, more than any other time in state history,” said OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt. “Due to a variety of factors, we expect to see some fluctuations in the weekly unemployment numbers. As a result of seasonal patterns, May initial claims tend to be higher than those in April. We will monitor these numbers closely to identify longer-term trends and ensure that the agency continues providing critical services for Oklahomans seeking employment as well as employers across the state.”

• For the file week ending May 28, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 2,571, an increase of 753 from the previous week's level of 1,818.
• For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 1,998, an increase of 84 from the previous week's average of 1,914.
• The unadjusted number of continued claims totaled 10,205, an increase of 16 from the previous week’s level of 10,189.
• For the same file week, the less volatile continued claims’ four-week moving average was 10,765, a decrease of 162 from the previous week's average of 10,927.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending June 4 was 229,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 215,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average. For the week ending May 28, the U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 0.9%, 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.