U.S. jobless claims drop in week

WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance dropped by 10,000 during the week ending Aug. 9, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The 450,000 initial benefits claims bumped the four-week rolling average to 445,000, an increase of 19,500 from the previous week's rolling average, the department reported.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.7 percent.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending Aug 2 were reported by Puerto Rico with 5,389 additional claims; Illinois, which added 4,163; and Missouri, which added 2,011, the report said.

State-by-state statistics lag a week behind the national report.

For the week ending Aug 2, the biggest decreases were reported by Ohio with a decline of 5,483 claims; Kentucky, declining by 3,734; and North Carolina with 2,298 fewer claims than the week of July 26.