Initial unemployment insurance claims drop for week ending July 22

BATON ROUGE – Initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending July 22, 2017 decreased to 2,700 from the previous week’s total of 2,939. For the comparable week a year ago, ending July 23, 2016, 2,880 initial claims were filed.

The four-week moving average of initial claims decreased to 2,907 from the previous week’s average of 2,972.

Continued unemployment insurance weeks claimed for the week ending July 22, 2017 decreased to 23,260 from the previous week’s total of 23,329. Continued weeks claimed were below the comparable figure of 27,743 for the week ending July 23, 2016.

The four-week moving average of continued weeks claimed decreased to 23,914 from the previous week’s average of 24,071.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) utilizes a variety of programs and resources to encourage job growth locally and throughout the state, so that everyone has an equal chance to provide for themselves and their loved ones in a family-sustaining career. According to data recently released by the Bureau of Labor & Statistics, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Louisiana decreased to 5.5 percent for the month of June. This is the lowest the unemployment rate has been since February 2014.

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.

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.