Jobless claims drop by 11,000

The department said first-time claims fell by 11,000 to 457,000, pushing the four-week rolling average for claims down 4,500 to 452,500.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, down 0.2 percentage points May to June.

The biggest increases in claims for the week ending July 17 were reported by California, with 19,809 additional claims, South Carolina, which added 5,115 and North Carolina, which added 4,512, the report said.

For the week ending June 17, the biggest decrease was reported by New York, with a decline of 19,552, followed by Indiana, where claims declined by 5,146 and Michigan, where claims fell by 4,491 compared to the week ending July 10.
State statistics lag a week behind the national report.

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