Jobless claims decline in week

WASHINGTON, May 28 (UPI) -- First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance declined by 13,000 during the week ending May 23, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.

The 623,000 initial benefits claims contributed to a four-week rolling average to 626,750, which was a slight decrease -- down by 3,000 -- from the previous week's rolling average of 629,750.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.9 percent.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending May 16 were reported by California with 5,447 additional claims; North Carolina, which added 2,693; and Georgia, which added 1,595, the report said.

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

For the week ending May 16, the biggest decreases were reported by Michigan with a decline of 9,758 claims; Kentucky, declining by 4,323; and Illinois, where 3,425 fewer claims were filed than the week of May 9.