Jobless claims unchanged in week

WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- The number of first-time jobless claims was unchanged in the week ended Saturday, the U.S. Labor Department said

The four-week rolling average of first-time claims fell to 375,000, down 4,750 from the previous week, but the number of claims filed in the week, 370,000, was unchanged from the previous week's revised figure.

The largest increases in initial benefits claims for the week ending May 5 were in Missouri (up by 2,569), New York (which gained 2,276), Pennsylvania (up 1,674) and California (up by 1,613). The largest decreases were in Florida (down by 2,599), Indiana (down 1,735), Connecticut (down 1,038) and New Hampshire (down 836).

The U.S. unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, falling 0.1 percentage points from March to April.