U.S. jobless claims escalate in week

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance jumped by 32,000 during the week ending Nov. 8, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The 516,000 initial benefits claims contributed to a four-week rolling average to 491,000, which was an increase of 13,250 from the previous week's rolling average.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 6.5 percent.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending Nov. 1 were reported by Ohio with 3,885 additional claims; Michigan, which added 2,619; and Pennsylvania, which added 2,155, the report said.

For the week ending Nov. 1, the biggest decreases were reported by California with a decline of 3,603 claims; Florida, declining by 2,327; and Nevada with 943 fewer claims than the week of Oct. 25.

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