Initial Unemployment Claims Rise

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The state labor department says first-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Nov. 1 increased to 2,178 from the previous week's total of 2,171.

For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 2,309 initial claims, officials said Friday.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, increased to 2,212, from the previous week's average of 2,187.

Continued unemployment claims for the week ending Nov. 1 increased to 19,190 compared to 19,123 the previous week.

The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 19,095 from the previous week's average of 19,101.