First-Time Jobless Claims Jump 11 Percent

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — First-time jobless claims in Louisiana took an 11 percent jump last week. The Louisiana Workforce Agency says there were 3,543 initial claims from the newly unemployed during the week ending March 5. The state tallied 3,196 first-time claims the previous week. The four-week moving average increased to 3,517 from the previous week's average of 3,314. That average smooths out volatility for a broader perspective. For the comparable week ending March 6, 2010, Louisiana recorded 4,007 initial claims. Last week, those still looking for work filed for an additional 45,618 weeks of benefits — down slightly from the previous week's 46,731. For the comparable week of 2010, the jobless filed for 59,933 extra weeks of benefits.