Dropping: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Jan. 16 decreased from the previous week’s total. The state labor department figures released Friday show initial claims fell to 3,485 from the previous week’s total of 4,203, the Associated Press reports. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 2,987. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 3,136 from the previous week’s total of 2,934. Continued unemployment claims claimed for the week ending Jan. 16 increased to 23,891 compared to 23,331 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 23,641 from the previous week’s average of 23,115.
Remaining constant: The number of oil and gas rigs exploring in Louisiana was unchanged this week, even as the price of oil continued to drop. According to Houston-based Baker Hughes, Louisiana has 54 rigs in the state and in the Gulf of Mexico. While the total number may be unchanged, four inland rigs stopped work and four rigs in the Gulf of Mexico started producing. Meanwhile, the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by 13 this week to 637, with 510 rigs searching for oil and 127 exploring for natural gas. A year ago, 1,633 rigs were active. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
Start hiring: Before anyone can get insurance coverage through Louisiana’s planned Medicaid expansion, the state needs to hire the workers who will sign patients up for that coverage. The Associated Press reports that Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration is working to have health care providers pick up that short-term $2.8 million cost for salaries, training and equipment—rather than the cash-strapped state health department. As he announced his Medicaid expansion roll-out, Edwards praised health secretary Rebekah Gee, saying she had secured pledges from providers to cover that cost for the current budget year. The unusual staffing proposal first requires federal approval before any of the estimated 248 workers needed to staff the Medicaid expansion work can be hired.
