Unemployment Claims Decrease Across Three Reporting Categories

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that initial claims, continued claims and continued claims’ four-week moving average decreased, while initial claims’ four-week moving average increased for the week ending Aug. 20.

“Fluctuations in our state’s unemployment trends are expected as we continue to see week-to-week volatility in claims data,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “While we are pleased to see decreases in this week’s numbers, OESC will remain vigilant in assessing and responding to long-term trends to ensure we are providing resources for all Oklahomans seeking employment, as well as all Oklahoma business owners.”

For more information on initial and continued claims data, visit oklahoma.gov/oesc/labor-market/claims-data.

• For the file week ending Aug. 20, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 2,802, a decrease of 1,174 from the previous week's level of 3,976.
• For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 3,203, an increase of 80 from the previous week's average of 3,123.
• The unadjusted number of continued claims totaled 10,851, a decrease of 524 from the previous week’s level of 11,375.
• For the same file week, the less volatile continued claims’ four-week moving average was 11,236, a decrease of 148 from the previous week's average of 11,384.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally-adjusted initial claims for the week ending Aug. 27 was 232,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 241,500, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised average.

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.