Oklahoma Employment Security Commission

Economic Research and Analysis - Initial and Continued Claims

There are two components to the unemployment insurance claims data. The first component is initial claims. Initial claims measure how many workers are filing an unemployment insurance claim for the first time. The second component is continued claims. Continued claims indicate the number of workers that continue to receive the unemployment insurance benefit after their initial claim.

For the file week ending on 11/7/2009 initial claims increased by 388 from 3,553 to 3,941. For the same file week ending the initial claims four week moving average decreased by 25 from 3,729 to 3,704.

For the file week ending on 11/7/2009 continued claims increased by 867 from 41,177 to 42,044. For the same file week ending the continued claims four week moving average decreased by 131 from 41,911 to 41,780.

The following two charts illustrate changes in initial and continued claims from January 3, 1987 through November 7, 2009. This data was gathered from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration’s web site. To download a spreadsheet containing the data click here. For data on other states or for more information on the data visit their website at http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims.asp.