Initial unemployment insurance claims rise for week ending June 17

BATON ROUGE – Initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending June 17, 2017 increased to 2,922 from the previous week’s total of 2,903. For the comparable week a year ago, ending June 18, 2016, 2,822 initial claims were filed.

The four-week moving average of initial claims increased to 2,924 from the previous week’s average of 2,883.

Continued unemployment insurance weeks claimed for the week ending June 17, 2017 increased to 23,492 from the previous week’s total of 23,109. Continued weeks claimed were below the comparable figure of 26,898 for the week ending June 18, 2016.

The four-week moving average of continued weeks claimed increased to 22,982 from the previous week’s average of 22,712.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) and all of their employees, work to put people into family-sustaining careers, so that they are able to provide for their families and to help push the state forward. Seasonally adjusted data for the month of May shows that total nonfarm employment gained 10,500 jobs over the month for a new figure of 1,983,200. This is the largest over-the-month gain since July 2011.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) has countless tools both in person and online to help claimants file and process their claims. This is in addition to the agency’s 59 local offices statewide, job fairs, training programs, apprenticeship opportunities and numerous other services.

Updates to the LWC’s unemployment information processing system are still being implemented. As a result, the following data are not currently available: the break-out of interstate claims, Louisiana unemployment insurance claimants' parish of residence, unemployment insurance claims by industry and UI claimants who have received at least one check during the reference month in Louisiana. Additionally, all reported numbers on initial and continued claims are estimates.

For more detailed information on occupational groups of unemployment insurance claimants, visit www.laworks.net and select Labor Market Information.

The Unemployment Insurance (UI) Weekly Claims Data webpage includes the following: UI Weekly Claims Data by Regional Labor Market Area and by Parish, UI Weekly Claims Data by Industry for Louisiana, UI Definition and UI Monthly Claimant Characteristics by Parish. To access these products, select Labor Market Information at www.laworks.net, scroll down the LMI page to the LMI Products section, and select Unemployment Insurance Claims.