Jobless claims down, just slightly

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- First-time unemployment benefits claims dropped slightly in the week that ended Saturday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.

First-time claims dropped by 2,000 to 326,000, falling from the previous week's revised figure of 328,000. The original estimate of the previous week's first-time claims was 330,000.

The four-week rolling average of first-time jobless claims fell by 13,500 to 335,000.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended Jan. 4 were in New York with a gain of 28,314, Georgia, up by 18,734 and South Carolina with 9,632 additional claims in the week.

The largest decreases were in Michigan, where claims dropped by 17,635, New Jersey with a drop of 6,882 and Massachusetts where claims declined by 5,485.