Louisiana’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.9% in January, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from December, with jobless numbers rising because more people joined the labor force than found jobs. Despite the increase, the rate remained below the 6.9% recorded in January last year.
The Associated Press reports a separate survey from the Labor Department shows payrolls rose slightly in January from December but are more than 15,000 below year-ago levels, indicating Louisiana’s economy may be shrinking. Mining employment has fallen by 12,000 over the year.
The number of unemployed Louisianans was flat from December to January at 125,000, but about 25,000 fewer than in January 2015. The unemployment rate was eighth-worst among all states, remaining well above the nation’s 4.9% rate. Both sets of figures are adjusted to cancel out seasonal changes.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana Workforce Commission announced today that initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending March 5 increased to 2,950 from the previous week’s total of 2,792. For the comparable week a year ago, ending March 7, 2015, 2,782 initial claims were filed.
The four-week moving average of initial claims decreased to 2,752 from the previous week’s average of 2,785. Continued unemployment insurance weeks claimed for the week ending March 5 increased to 23,117 from the previous week’s total of 22,955. Continued weeks claimed were above the comparable figure of 21,113 for the week ending March 7, 2015.
The four-week moving average of continued weeks claimed decreased to 22,925 from the previous week’s average of 22,935.
