Detour ahead: The southbound lane of St Louis Street will be closed to traffic from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Tuesday to make repairs to the River Center sign on the overhead walkway between the East and West Parking Garages downtown. City-parish officials say motorists should detour around the closure using River Road and Fourth Street. Southbound St. Louis Street will remain open between North Boulevard and Louisiana Avenue during the closure.
By the numbers: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending June 6 increased from the previous week’s total. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims increased to 3,368 from the previous week’s total of 3,299. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 3,292. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 3,149 from the previous week’s total of 3,016. The Louisiana Workforce Commission has more details.
Winning streak: For two straight weeks now, the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and gas in Louisiana has risen. According to Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes’ weekly count, released today, Louisiana’s rig total rose by one to 71. Last week, Louisiana saw its rig count rise by three. Nationwide, the rig count fell by nine to 859 rigs. Of those, 635 are active oil rigs, a decline of seven on the week and the lowest total since Aug. 6, 2010, Business Insider reports. The number of active oil rigs in the U.S. has now declined for 27 straight weeks. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
