Tagged: economy

A new study says New Orleans is in a poverty crisis. The review, commissioned by the Greater New Orleans Foundation and conducted by the Greater New Orleans Comunity Data Center, finds financial trouble extending to the middle class.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Aug. 4 increased from the previous week's total.

The state labor department figures released Friday show the initial claims increased to 3,216 from the previous week's total of 2,988.

For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 4,033 initial claims.

The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 3,240 from the previous week's total of 3,426.

VIDALIA — The Concordia Economic and Industrial Development District is still feeling the effects of last year's Mississippi River flood.

The Natchez Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/LushVu) that the district board figures for the year that ended June 13 show revenues from hotel taxes totaled $71,000 — a decrease from the $90,000 it collected the previous fiscal year.

The state of Louisiana is accepting applications for a program offering low-interest loans of up to $5 million to businesses affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

The state Office of Community Development said in a statement Wednesday that the loans are designed to address "unmet business recovery needs" and stimulate economy recovery.

Funding for 11 projects already has been approved through the "Project-Based Opportunity Program."

The loans are funded by federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.