Initial State Unemployment Claims Increase By 58.5% | Local Business News | Tulsaworld.com – Tulsa World

First-time state unemployment claims rose by 58.5% the week ending Dec. 18 compared to the previous week, according to a government report.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment increased from 1,769 to 2,716. The number of continued claims for that week dropped 4.2%, going from 13,999 to 13,410.

Continued claims’ four-week moving average was 14,066, a decrease of 309 from the previous week’s average of 14,375.

“I am incredibly proud of the state and OESC employees for their hard work and dedication to serving Oklahomans throughout this past year,” Shelley Zumwalt, Oklahoma Employment Security Commission executive director, said in a statement. “Looking back at the beginning of the year, the continued claims’ four-week moving average was 40,841, and now we are well below 15,000, which is a dramatic 63% decrease.

“The initial claims’ four-week moving average has also decreased by 58% from 5,034 to 2,078. Since the start of the pandemic, OESC paid out $5.5 billion in unemployment benefits, while continuing to keep the UI Trust Fund solvent.”

Nationally, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending Saturday was 198,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level, according to the Department of Labor. The four-week moving average was 199,250, a dip of 7,250 from the previous week’s revised average.

“After seeing record low unemployment numbers following a pandemic that caused some of the highest unemployment rates we’ve seen, it’s now time for the agency to shift gears and look to the future,” Zumwalt said. “Our goal is to build the workforce through our re-employment services and make equal investments in our employees and our technology. We are striving to create a quality experience for claimants that’s consistent across all our local offices.”