WBRZ - Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. - First-time claims for jobless benefits in Louisiana dropped 24 percent last week.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission recorded 3,167 initial filings for the week ending February 19th.

That's down from the previous week's total of 4,158.

For the comparable week ending February 20th, 2010, there were 3,541 first-time filings from the newly unemployed.

Those still looking for work filed for an additional 47,774 weeks of benefits last week. That fell from the previous week's total of 48,813.

A year ago, the jobless filed for an additional 61,152 weeks.