First-time jobless claims escalate

In the week ending July 17, the department said first-time claims rose by 37,000 to 464,000, pushing the four-week rolling average for claims to 456,000.

For the second consecutive week, the four-week rolling average climbed by 1,250.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.5 percent after dropping 0.2 percentage points May to June.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending July 10 were reported by New York, with 18,047 additional claims, Indiana, which added 9,094 and Michigan, which added 7,758, the report said.

For the week ending June 10, the biggest decrease was reported by New Jersey, with a decline of 10,585, followed by California, where claims declined by 8,034 and Massachusetts, where claims fell by 3,343 compared to the week ending July 3.

State statistics lag a week behind the national report.

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