Jobless claims drop in week

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance decreased by 24,000 during the week ending Jan. 3, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The figure remains elevated, although the number has dropped for two weeks. There were 467,000 initial benefits claims during the week, which contributed to a four-week rolling average to 525,750.

The rolling average is down 27,000 from a week ago. Two weeks ago, the rolling average was 558,000, with first time claims reaching a 26-year high at 586,000.

The national unemployment rate remains unchanged at 6.7 percent.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending Dec 27 were reported by Wisconsin, with 16,081 additional claims; Michigan, which added 10,524; and Kansas, which added 10,485, the report said.

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

For the week ending Dec. 27, the biggest decreases were reported by Texas with a decline of 13,232 claims; California, declining by 9,702; and Florida with 8,566 fewer claims than the week of Dec. 20.