Jobless claims drop by 9,000

WASHINGTON, June 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Labor Department said first-time jobless benefits claims dropped by 9,000 to 346,000 in the week that ended Saturday.

The department revised the previous week's estimate from 354,000 to 355,000. This set the four-week rolling average at 345,750, down 2,750 from the previous week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended June 15 were in California, where claims rose by 15,341, Pennsylvania with a gain of 4,882 and Florida with a gain of 4,850).

The largest decreases were in Illinois, down by 3,401, New York, down by 2,090, and Georgia with 1,893 fewer claims.