Louisiana jobless claims up slightly

By DAVID JACOBS
The Center Square

The number of Louisiana residents making new claims for unemployment rose slightly last week, the Louisiana Workforce Commission reported Friday.
Initial unemployment insurance claims for the week ending March 6 rose to 7,100, compared with 6,981 the previous week. For a comparison from before the COVID-19 pandemic, during the week ending March 7, 2020, 1,698 initial claims were filed.

Continued claims for the week ending March 6 decreased to 48,016 from the previous week’s total of 53,212. There were 14,199 continued claims for the week ending March 7, 2020, the LWC reported.

The number of Louisiana residents filing new claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance went up during the week ending March 6, from 769 the previous week to 1,175, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. PUA is for workers such as independent contractors who don’t qualify for state benefits.

The number of Louisiana residents making continued claims for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation went up during the week ending Feb. 20, the most-recent week the federal government has reported, from 78,092 to 80,650. PEUC is for workers who have exhausted their state benefits.

President Joe Biden this week granted Gov. John Bel Edwards’ request to declare a major disaster for 23 parishes affected last month by severe winter weather. The parishes are Avoyelles, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, DeSoto, East Baton Rouge, Franklin, Grant, LaSalle, Madison, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, Webster, West Carroll and Winn.

Residents and businesses in those parishes may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance. The LWC is accepting applications until April 12.