Jobless claims down slightly in week

WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance dropped by 13,000 during the week ending Aug. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The 432,000 initial benefits claims contributed to a four-week rolling average to 445,750, an increase of 7,250 above last week's average.

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

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending Aug 9 were reported by Georgia with 3,522 additional claims; New York, which added 2,709; and Puerto Rico, which added 2,274, the report said.

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

For the week ending Aug 9, the biggest decreases were reported by Florida with a decline of 7,017 claims; Michigan, declining by 5,160; and Illinois with 4,049 fewer claims than the week of Aug 2.