Oklahoma's unemployment insurance compensation program in good shape, so far

The fund that supports Oklahoma’s unemployment insurance compensation program remains in good financial shape — for now.

On July 3, it held $1.3 billion available for payouts to Oklahomans who are both traditional workers and self-employed/gig economy workers who aren’t on the job because of the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since early March, the unemployment program overseen by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission has paid out more than $2.1 billion in traditional and federal benefits provided through Congress’ CARES Act, officials said this week.

While that might make you think the fund could run out of dollars, don't despair. There's always tax money from employers coming in, and Oklahoma could ratchet that tax rate higher.

Read more: https://oklahoman.com/article/5666538/oklahomas-unemployment-insurance-compensation-program-in-good-shape-so-far