First time jobless claims down 3rd week

In the week ending March 13, claims fell by 5,000 to 457,000. For the week, the four-week rolling average decreased by 4,250 to 471,250 the department said.

The U.S. jobless rate remained unchanged at 9.7 percent.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending March 6 were reported by North Carolina with 5,100 additional claims; Illinois, which added 2,461, and Oregon, which added 1,542, the report said.

For the week ending March 6, the biggest decreases were reported by New York, with a decline of 10,929 claims; California, declining by 7,235, and Connecticut, with 2,082 fewer claims than the week ending Feb. 27.

State-by-state statistics lag a week behind the national report.

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