Continued Claims Reach 20-year Low

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that continued claims and both four-week moving averages declined for the week ending April 30, while initial claims increased slightly. 

“Oklahoma’s economy has hit yet another major milestone, with continued claims at a 20-year low,” said OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt. “This is a direct result of our state’s resiliency, strong employers and visionary leaders. Oklahoma continues to be a national leader in workforce strength and stability and OESC remains committed to building a robust workforce  and providing immediate opportunity to Oklahomans seeking employment.” 

• For the file week ending April 30, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 2,235, an increase of 307 from the previous week's level of 1,928. 
• For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ 4-week moving average was 1,969, a decrease of 120 from the previous week's average of 2,089.
• The number of continued claims totaled 10,853, a decrease of 282 from the previous week’s level of 11,135. The last time continued claims were lower than this was in October 2000. 
• Continued claims’ four-week moving average was 11,318, a decrease of 329 from the previous week's average of 11,647.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending May 7 was 203,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 192,750, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week's revised average. For the week ending April 30, 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