By the numbers: The state labor department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending May 9 increased to 2,838 from the previous week’s total of 2,498. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 2,209 initial claims, officials announced today. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, decreased to 2,716 from the previous week’s average of 2,772. Continued unemployment claims for the week ending May 9 increased to 22,873 compared to 22,639 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 22,642 from the previous week’s average of 22,425. The Louisiana Workforce Commission has more.
It’s a wash: The weekly US oil and gas rig count report from Houston-based Baker Hughes shows Louisiana gained three rigs on the week, offsetting a three-rig loss recorded the week previous. Of the 73 active rigs in Louisiana, 32 are located offshore, the report shows, while 27 are in northern Louisiana, 10 are in south Louisiana and four are located in inland waters. As FuelFix.com reports, a total of eight oil rigs were lost across the country this week. The number of rigs chasing crude oil has now fallen for 23 consecutive weeks. Combined oil and gas rigs fell by six to a total of 888 on the week. Oil rigs fell by eight to 660, while gas-chasing rigs rose by two to 223. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at five. Read the full story.
Bringing it all back home: Senators from Louisiana, Texas, Alaska and other coastal states have launched a fresh campaign to siphon off more of the revenue that flows to the federal government from offshore drilling. Four Gulf Coast states already collect some of the royalty revenue that companies pay the federal government for oil and gas extracted offshore, but they want more. FuelFix.com reports Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Warner, D-Va., have introduced a trio of bills this week that aim to broaden the existing revenue sharing program, setting the stage for the proposals’ possible inclusion in a wide-ranging energy bill now being assembled in the chamber. Read the full story.
