State unemployment numbers rise significantly

BATON ROUGE – The initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Mar. 28 rose to 97,400, compared to the total of 72,438 for the week ending March 21 -- almost 25,000 new claims. That compares to the March 30, 2019 unemployment numbers showing 1,666 new claims that week.

The four-week moving average of initial claims increased to 43,448 from the previous week’s average of 19,475. The four-week moving average of continued claims increased to 25,089 from the previous week’s average of 14,405.

The unemployment insurance continued claims for the week ending Mar. 28 to 58,027 from the week ending March 21, which was 14,143. The continued claims were above the comparable figure of 14,283 for this time last year.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) has several tools, including online resources, to help claimants file and process their claims.

To view unemployment insurance claims data for prior weeks, visit www.laworks.net and select Labor Market Information, scroll down the LMI page and select Unemployment Insurance (UI) Claims Data.