OESC Releases Update On Unemployment Claims

The Oklahoma Employment Securities Commission says it's paid out more than $432 million in claims and benefits over the past six weeks.

They say total payouts for the first three weeks of this pandemic totaled more than all of 2019.

Right now the commission says they have nearly 64,000 claims still pending. The OESC says they have also paid nearly $260 thousand in federal pandemic unemployment compensation since March 15th.

The commission says they have developed a new website, and added hundreds of call center for workers to handle the spike in claims during COVID-19 closures.

The OESC says along with the spike in claims, they've stopped nearly 4000 fraudulent claims.

Read Related: Oklahoma Lawmakers Say Unemployment Agency 'A Total Failure' In Wake Of Pandemic