Initial, Rlling Oklahoma Unemployment Claims Decline

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The number of initial unemployment claims and the less volatile moving four-week average of initial claims are both down in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission on Thursday reported the number of initial weekly claims fell by about 50%, from 7,787 to 4,394, and the moving average dropped from 8,237 to 7,046. The state’s latest unemployment rate of 3.7% in June was down from a high of 14.7% in April 2020 during a shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. The state health department reported 1,806 new coronavirus cases Thursday and a seven-day average of 1,268 as the number of cases has increased as the delta variant moves across the state.