Unemployment Claims Steady as UI Trust Fund Balance Over $300M

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that continued claims and both four-week moving averages declined for the week ending April 23, while initial claims increased slightly. 

“The state’s UI trust fund balance has reached over $300M as a result of strong Q1 contributions by employers,” said OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt. “Oklahoma continues to show how our consistent approach to managing the UI Trust Fund has resulted in it being one of the strongest and most stable funds in the nation. Thanks to this robust fund and employers across the state, OESC is able to provide critical services to Oklahomans seeking employment.” 

• For the file week ending April 23, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 1,928, an increase of 150 from the previous week's level of 1,778.
• For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 2,089, a decrease of 254 from the previous week's average of 2,343.
• The number of continued claims totaled 11,135, a decrease of 284 from the previous week’s level of 11,419.
• Continued claims’ four-week moving average was 11,647, a decrease of 196 from the previous week's average of 11,843.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending April 30 was 200,000, an increase of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 188,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised average. For the week ending April 23, the U.S. DOL reports the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.0%, 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.