OKLAHOMA CITY – Nationwide claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending April 16 dipped to their lowest level in 52 years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims that week was 184,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 186,000.
Nationally the less volatile four-week moving average was 177,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week’s revised average.
The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 9 was 1,417,000, a decrease of 58,000 from the previous week. This was the lowest number for insured unemployment since Feb. 21, 1970, when it was 1,412,000.
The four-week moving average was 1,481,750, a decrease of 31,250 from the previous week. That was the lowest level for that average since March 21, 1970, when it was 1,456,750.
During the week ending April 9, the advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1%, unchanged from the prior week.
The five states logging the largest decreases in initial claims for the week ending April 9 included Oklahoma (-776). States reporting the largest increases in first-time claims that week were Missouri (+7,194), California (+3,215) and Texas (+2,617).
According to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, the unadjusted number of initial jobless claims in Oklahoma for the week ending April 2 was 2,712, a decrease of 234 from the previous week. The less volatile initial claims’ four-week moving average that week was 2,445, an increase of 289 from the previous week.
Continuing claims in Oklahoma numbered 12,167, an increase of 246 from the previous week. The four-week moving average of continued claims was 11,889, an increase of 40 from the previous week.
“We are pleased to see that initial claims numbers decreased for the week ending April 2, indicating the increases for initial claims over the last few weeks were seasonal,” OESC Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt said.
“Those increases have expectedly led to the rise in both four-week moving averages. We are confident that Oklahoma’s economy is going to continue to be one of the strongest in the nation with continued pre-pandemic claims numbers and record low unemployment rates.”
U.S. employers added a record 6.7 million jobs last year and an average of 560,000 more each month so far this year. The unemployment rate, which soared to 14.7% in April 2020 in the depths of the COVID-19 recession, is now just 3.6%, barely above the lowest point in 50 years. And there is a record proportion of 1.7 job openings for every unemployed American.