Weekly jobless claims drop by 31,000

The decrease to 473,000 claims for jobless benefits countered a recent rise in claims. The four-week rolling average for initial claims rose by 3,250 to 486,750 from the previous week's revised average of 483,500.

The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.5 percent.

The report said the biggest increases in claims for the week ending Aug. 14 were reported by Puerto Rico with 2,190 additional claims, Wisconsin, which added 1,004, and New Jersey, which added 843, the report said.

For the week ending Aug. 14, the biggest decrease was reported by California with a decline of 5,275, followed by Indiana, where claims declined by 2,209, and Pennsylvania, where claims fell by 2,074, compared to the week ending Aug. 7.

State statistics lag a week behind the national report.

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