Jobless claims drop by 5,000

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- First-time unemployment claims dropped by 5,000 in the week that ended Saturday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.

Initial claims dropped to 305,000 from the prior week's revised figure of 310,000. A week earlier, the jobless claims figure was estimated at 309,000.

With the exception of early September, when claims dipped to less than 300,000 for a week, the weekly total has not been this low since September 2007.

The four-week rolling average for first-time claims was 308,000, down 7,000 from the previous week.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended Sept. 14 were in California, where claims rose by 22,611, Florida with a gain of 3,946, and Georgia, up by 2,690.

The largest decreases were in Oklahoma, down 439, Tennessee, down 404 and Kansas, down 351.