WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance dropped by 20,000 during the week ending Oct. 4, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The 478,000 initial benefits claims contributed to a four-week rolling average to 498,000, which was an increase of 8,250 from the previous week's rolling average.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1 percent.
The Labor Department said an estimated 17,000 claims were made as a result of Hurricane Gustave in Louisiana and Hurricane Ike in Texas.
State-by-state statistics lag a week behind the national report.
The biggest increases in claims for the week ending Sept. 27 were reported by Texas with 13,538 additional claims; Kentucky, which added 3,680; and Mississippi, which added 1,505, the report said.
For the week ending Sept. 27, the biggest decreases were reported by Louisiana with a decline of 17,816 claims; Florida, declining by 6,853; and Michigan with 1,559 fewer claims than the week of Sept. 20.
