Jobless claims jump by 19,000 in week

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- First-time unemployment benefits claims rose sharply in the week that ended Saturday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.

First-time claims rose by 19,000 to 348,000, climbing from the previous week's revised figure of 329,000.

The revision is 3,000 higher than reported last week.

In the current week, the four-week rolling average of first-time jobless claims rose by 750 to 333,000.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week that ended Jan. 18 were in California with a gain of 11,708, Oregon with 1,239 additional claims and Rhode Island with an increase of 304.

The largest decreases were in Pennsylvania, down by 16,595, Indiana, off by 10,740 and Texas with a drop of 8,789.