Initial unemployment claims dropped in Louisiana last week after briefly spiking the week prior, according to the latest figures from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Initial claims dropped 16% for the week ending March 1 compared to the previous week. Claims are also 9.5% lower than they were for the same period last year.
The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths out short-term fluctuations and highlights longer-term trends, decreased 4% to 1,573.
The drop in local filings follows national trends. The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell by to 221,000, a drop of 21,000, for the week ending March 1, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s significantly fewer than the 236,000 new applications analysts expected.
Continued claims in Louisiana continued to drop, with filings decreasing 1.3% last week.