Weekly jobless claims increase in La.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Feb. 2 increased to 3,126 from the previous week’s total of 2,904.

Initial claims were below the comparable week a year earlier at 3,308, the state’s labor department reported.

The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 3,591 from the previous week’s total of 3,623.

Continued unemployment claims for the week ending Feb 2 decreased to 31,123, compared to the previous week’s 31,727. The four-week moving average for such claims decreased to 31,980 from the previous week’s average of 32,199.