Jobless benefits requests remain high, official says

Among the tens of thousands of out-of-work Oklahomans is an Edmond man whose former employer fought him on unemployment benefits. His boss claimed he failed to meet core values. But the worker, who lost a sales job in April, prevailed weeks later on appeal.

Joe Groves, a payroll officer for an Oklahoma City staffing firm, has seen some workers truly abuse the system. "One guy quit because his ride moved, and wanted us to pay unemployment so he could buy a car,” Groves said.

Today’s economy is ripe for filings and protests. According to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, about 56,000 Oklahomans are collecting unemployment benefits.

Initial claims are averaging 4,000 a week, compared with 2,000 before the recession.

Claims are down 33 percent from a December high, but claims for extended benefits hit daily records last week, with 361 Oklahomans requesting extensions Monday and 313 Tuesday.

"It (the recession) ain’t over,” said Jerry Pectol, director of unemployment insurance for the agency.

According to the agency’s Web site, about 37 percent of claims are protested by employers who, based on the number of claims filed against them each year, are taxed 0.1 to 5.5 percent on part of their payroll to cover unemployment insurance. They also pay a 0.8 percent federal unemployment tax to cover, among other things, benefits for self-employed workers whose businesses are destroyed in tornadoes and other disasters.

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