State unemployment payments top past decade pay combined

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission says the amount of unemployment payments since the coronavirus began a year ago has surpassed the amount paid during the prior 10 years combined. The OESC on Thursday reported more than $4.4 billion in jobless payments since March 2020, nearly $1.5 billion more than all payments during the previous decade.

The state reached a high of 14.7% jobless in April during a shutdown ordered by Gov. Kevin Stitt in an effort to stem the spread of the virus. The shutdown lifted in May.

The state health department reports 895 new virus cases for a total of 426,641 since the pandemic began.