Help wanted: The state labor department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Feb. 7 increased to 2,939 from the previous week’s total of 2,676. For the comparable week a year earlier, 2,392 initial claims were filed, officials announced today. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, decreased to 2,783, down from the previous week’s average of 2,949. Continued unemployment claims for the week ending Feb. 7 decreased to 21,325 compared to 21,755 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims fell to 21,781 from the previous week’s average of 21,987.
By the numbers: Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. plunged by 98 this week to 1,358 amid depressed oil prices. Louisiana, however, was spared this week, gaining one rig. The Houston firm says in its weekly report today that 1,056 rigs were exploring for oil and 300 for gas in the U.S. Two were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago 1,764 rigs were active. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas’ count plummeted by 56, New Mexico fell 12, North Dakota fell nine, Colorado lost six, Oklahoma lost five, Wyoming fell three, Ohio and West Virginia each lost two and Arkansas fell one. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
Boom and bust: The U.S. drilling frenzy is over, but Bloomberg reports the boom in oil production isn’t. While companies have idled some 151 rigs in five shale formations since reaching a peak of 1,157 in October, they’ll need to park another 200 for growth to stall, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Output there will reach a record 5.47 million barrels a day in March even though the number of rigs exploring for oil is the lowest since 2013. The spending cuts led to speculation that U.S. gains would slow, eroding a global supply glut that sent prices tumbling last year. Read the full story.
