The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission helped more than 6,200 Oklahomans, including 1,000 Tulsans, with unemployment claims during its in-person, socially-distanced events, according to agency officials.
All of the events on July 1-2, July 6-9, and July 13-16 were held at the Reed Event Center in Midwest City and the Tulsa Fairgrounds.
OESC said it added more events in Tulsa on July 22, 23 and 24 with the goal of serving another 2,000 claimants, an increase from the 1,200 expected to be seen July 15-16 combined.
READ MORE: OESC adds 2nd week of unemployment claim help in Tulsa
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, OESC said it paid out more than $2.4 billion in unemployment benefits.
Oklahomans are still hurting, but we are continuing to help people with their claims and get them the services they need. The claims events in Tulsa have continued the success we saw in Oklahoma City, serving more than 1,000 people in just two days – with more expected next week.
Aside from the processing claims events, OESC said it is continuing to resolve issues by adding several new staff members to its call center agencies in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
The agency is also updating its 40-year-old computer system into the modern age.
“We’re taking manual processes that require a human and automating those,” Zumwalt said. “This will eventually move the mainframe into something from 2020. This is a huge undertaking that often takes many months to complete – and we are getting it done as soon as possible while ensuring we don’t disrupt service to our claimants.”
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