Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Nationwide, unemployment insurance has been increasing dramatically for the past three months and Oklahoma is one of the states impacted. Nationally, the

U-S Department of Labor reported that insurance claims for all 50 states climbed 4000 to 250,000 with a four-week average since April of 750 new claims. In Oklahoma, there have been 12,000 claims since January with 52,000 people who have been on unemployment benefits for more than six months. Oklahoma is reporting an overall 2.8-percent unemployment rate, which is significantly better than most states in the nation but as the continued inflation squeezes both businesses and individuals, more claims are expected.

The US Department of Labor says that inflation naturally tends to cause more unemployment claims but the fact that it has increased so dramatically in just 90 days is a concern.