Fact Check: Are Unemployment Benefits Ending?

Dec. 8--Oklahoma Employment Security Commission Director Shelley Zumwalt recently announced the end of State Extended Benefits for unemployed Oklahomans.

Naturally, that led to much disinformation online regarding the "end" of unemployment insurance for Oklahomans. That claim is false. To be clear, traditional Unemployment Insurance is not ending, only the State Extended Benefits are ceasing.

Here are five things to know about what State Extended Benefits are, and why they are ending.

What are Oklahoma State Extended Unemployment Benefits? How are they different than my traditional unemployment payment?

State Extended Benefits are a form of assistance given to Oklahomans who spend an extended time unemployed. They are only paid after other an individual has exhausted other forms of financial unemployment assistance.

Unemployment Insurance is the first form a traditional employee qualifies for after losing a job. Individuals can receive UI payments for 26 weeks after a job loss, the equivalent of half a year.

If still unemployed after 26 weeks, the individual may be eligible to qualify for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). PEUC is a product of the CARES Act and it gives individuals an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits.

If that same individual remains unemployed after 13 weeks of qualifying for PEUC, 39 weeks after first qualifying for UI, State Extended Benefits have been available for an additional 13 weeks.

When and why do the Oklahoma State Unemployment Extended Benefits end?

The State Extended Benefits end Saturday.

The benefits are ending because of a statistic called the Insured Unemployment Rate (IUR), which is different from the statewide unemployment rate. The IUR is a 13-week rolling average of the rate of continued weekly claims compared to number of covered employment jobs for the state. If that rate drops below 5% it triggers an end to the State Extended Benefits.

The state dropped below 5% on Nov. 21 as more and more Oklahomans returned to work.

Do State Extended Unemployment Benefits pay the same as other unemployment benefits?

No. Unemployment Insurance, which is based off a percentage of an employee's pay, almost always pays more than the State Extended Benefits.

How many people are set to lose State Extended Unemployment?

This number is still a little unclear, but Zumwalt estimates it's fewer than 10,000.

It may be hard to believe, but anyone currently qualifying for the benefit would have been unemployed before COVID-19 triggered widespread shutdowns in the state as it's been less than 39 weeks since the Thunder game that never was.

Are we losing other benefits?

Yes. The CARES Act is set to expire Dec. 26. When it ends, so too will the PEUC as well as the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which was a new kind of assistance for gig, or self-employed workers.

Is there any other help out there?

If you are currently the beneficiary of SEB, PEUC, PUA, the impending end to those benefits is alarming. The same applies if you are nearing the end of your 26 weeks of UI.

But there could be more assistance coming. If there is an unemployment assistance component to a second relief bill, similar extended benefits might be included. That sort of assistance is dependent on Congress and is not a state decision.

The OESC also offers job-matching services to help those who have lost work and are seeking a new job. That can be found online at okjobmatch.com.

And since the traditional UI is still not going anywhere, those who have lost a job in recent weeks can still apply for those benefits at oesc.ok.gov.

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