Initial unemployment insurance claims in Louisiana for the week ending Dec. 4 rose to 2,183 from the week prior’s 1,568. The increase, while significantly lower than the 9,114 claims filed the same week last year, comes as unemployment claims nationwide reached a 52-year-low, according to the latest report from Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Continued claims for the week ending Dec. 4 increased to 20,169 from 18,760 the week before, but were less than one-third of the number of claims a year ago when pandemic-related restrictions and spikes in coronavirus cases had 75,000 Louisiana residents receiving unemployment benefits.
Unemployment claims nationwide have been steadily falling all year as the labor market has tightened amid a shortage of available workers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the omicron variant of COVID-19 represents another threat from the pandemic, but economists expect labor market conditions to remain tight.
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