Louisiana’s weekly unemployment insurance claims drop

First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Nov. 17 decreased from the previous week’s total. New state labor department figures show the initial claims decreased to 2,875 from the previous week’s total of 3,089. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 4,558 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 2,784 from the previous week’s total of 2,788. Continued unemployment claims filed for the week ending Nov. 17 decreased to 29,653 compared to 30,269 the previous week. This was the lowest level since the week ending Nov. 29, 2008, with 28,944. The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 30,189 from the previous week’s average of 30,457.