OK unemployment 7.1% in July
Oklahoma had fewer j obs available and a higher percentage of unemployed workers in July.
The state's unemployment rate was 7.1% for the month, slightly worse than the 6.4% rate in June, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The percentage isn't surprising, given weekly updates i ssued by state and f ederal officials show thousands of Oklahomans ei t her r emain under-employed or out of a job entirely.
Thurs d a y , o f f i c i a l s s a i d 1 1 7 , 1 4 1 Okl a h o mans wer e drawing continued assistance for unemployment insurance during the week ending Aug. 8.
More than 5,000 filed initial claims for unemployment i nsurance during t he week ending Aug. 1 5 . Continual e l e v a t e d l e v e l s o f i n i t i a l claims mean there are steadily between 5,000 and 10,000 unresolved claims each week as the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission processes new claims.
But, the agency has processed 800,000 claims since March 1, distributing about $2.8 billion in state and CARES Act-prescribed benefits along t he way. And Oklahoma's 7.1% rate is tied for being the 11th lowest state unemployment rate in the nation — the nation's unemployment rate for the month was estimated at 10.2% — with only Arkansas a nd Missouri matching or beating t hat mark when i t came to surrounding states.
Additional dollars coming
Work began Monday night to create a system that will be used to provide unemployed Oklahomans with an extra $ 300 i n weekly unemployment benefits.
The money i s from a $ 44 bil l i on appropriation f r om t h e F e d e r a l E m e r g e n c y Management Agency to support a Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program. The program
was created by President Donald Trump through an executive order.
T h e b i g g e s t b u m p anyone in Oklahoma will see in a weekly check will be $300 (before taxes), as Oklahoma wil l provide its required match using money already included in an individual's weekly payment from his or her
s t a t e u n e m p l o y m e n t insurance account.
A n y p e r s o n w i t h a weekl y u ne mployment benefit of less than $100 won't qualify to receive t h e a d d i t i o n a l h e l p , a technicality analysts said would l eave many l owwage earners out i n the cold.
State officials have said t hey don't e x pect t hat will be an issue for most people drawing assistance in Oklahoma.
O n F r i d a y , S h e l l e y Zumwalt, interim director
of the OESC, said it will take time for the agency to create a system claimants can use to access that help, but added the agency is working as quickly as it can to get it established.
Zumwalt said the money Oklahoma disburses for LWA must be kept separate from the trust fund dollars used t o f und i t s unemployment insurance program, noting that eligibility requirements also are entirely different.
“The onl y t hi ng t hat benefit has i n common
w i t h t h e F e d e r a l Pandemic Unemployment Compensat i o n B e n e f i t (the CARES Act-provided $600 a week) is that they both have t wo zeros i n them,” she said. “It is a c o mpl e t e l y n e w c o mp e n s a t i o n c a t e g o r y , a completely new denomination and a completely new funding category — a lot more complicated than people realize.”
Once the system is set up, the benefit will be retroactive to Aug. 1.
“There's still a lot of work to be done, but we remain c o mmi t t e d t o g e t t i n g Oklahomans the help they need— and to get them back into our workforce safely,” she said.
Five things to know
• An u n p r e c e d e n t e d number of people lost their jobs since the outbreak of COVID- 1 9, d r i v i n g u p unemployment and t he statewide unemployment rate.
• Oklahoma's rate in July was tied for being the 11th lowest rate in the nation, d e s p i t e t h e e l e v a t e d numbers of unemployed Oklahomans.
• July's rate was 3.8 percentage points higher than July 2019.
• Any Oklahoman who is laid off of a job or has his or her hours cut to fewer than 32 per week can apply for assistance at ui.ok.gov.
• State officials said earlier this week it would take about four to five weeks to create the system used to distribute the LWA funds.