Continued Claims Remain Historically Low

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) reports that initial claims, initial claims’ four-week average and continued claims’ four-week average decreased, while continued claims increased slightly for the week ending Sept. 17.

“We continue to see a historically low number of continued claims this week — below 10,000 — in addition to claims data decreasing across the other three reporting categories,” said Shelley Zumwalt, OESC Executive Director. “At this time, there is strong supply and demand for employment opportunities in the state, and we are optimistic that both job seekers and employers are well equipped to find and retain meaningful work. OESC is committed to connecting Oklahomans to gainful employment through our services and resources.”

• For the file week ending Sept. 17, the number of initial claims, unadjusted, totaled 1,484, a decrease of 264 from the previous week's level of 1,748.
• For the same file week, the less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average was 2,063, a decrease of 329 from the previous week's average of 2,392.
• The unadjusted number of continued claims totaled 9,957, an increase of 10 from the previous week’s level of 9,947.
• For the same file week, the less volatile continued claims’ four-week moving average was 10,093, a decrease of 223 from the previous week's average of 10,316.

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally-adjusted initial claims for the week ending Sept. 24 was 193,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) reports. The four-week moving average was 207,000, a decrease of 8,750 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.