NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana had the nation’s largest drop in initial claims for unemployment for the week ending September 27 as the effect of Hurricane Gustav began wearing off.
That’s according to a report released Thursday by the federal Labor Department.
Louisiana recorded a decrease of 17,816 initial unemployment claims that week. That follows a sharp increase in the weeks following Gustav and Hurricane Ike that totaled just over 30,000.
Nationwide, preliminary figures for initial claims last week dropped 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 478,000. The Labor Department says the effects of Gustav and Ike added about 17,000 claims to that total.
 
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