Covid-19

The federal program meant to help workers who lost wages due to the COVID-19 pandemic and response has ended.
The White House authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to spend up to $44 billion to add $300 per week to the unemployment benefits of qualified workers. The money ran out before claimants in some states got their first check.
The Louisiana Workforce Commission has paid out $376 million in Lost Wages Assistance, the LWC says.

The economic consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the oil glut generated by the Saudis and Russians, and the lack of storage are being felt at a much quicker pace than previously projected, gravely threatening Louisiana’s energy sector, a Louisiana Oil & Gas Association news release stated.
The second in a series of “point-in-time” surveys shows that nearly a quarter of the state’s oil related workforce has potentially already been laid off, and four in every five exploration and production (E&P) companies has already begun shutting in wells, it stated.

Recently released employment numbers may be the best for the year given COVID-19 layoffs and the downturn in the oil and gas industry.
In releasing the job numbers Friday, the Louisiana Workforce Commission stated the February not seasonal employment data did not reflect any COVID-19 impacts.
The February numbers were historically low, according to the news release from the commission.
Not seasonally adjusted numbers do not take into account factors such as weather and holidays.