Initial unemployment claims in Louisiana fell to 1,394 for the week ending May 16, down from 1,490 the prior week and from 1,996 during the same week a year ago, according to data from Louisiana Works. Initial unemployment claims are seen as a proxy for layoffs. Continued unemployment claims decrea sed to 5,987 from the previous week’s 6,007. That number was also considerably below the 10,086 continued claims filed during the same week in May 2025. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of initial claims, which accounts for minor week-to-week fluctuations, increased to 1,398 from the previous week’s average of 1,374. ...read more read less