Submitted by Fox First at Ten on September 20th
By The Associated Press
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell only slightly to 382,000. The level suggests hiring remains sluggish. Here are the states with the biggest changes in unemployment aid applications. The state level data are for the week that ended September 8, one week behind the national data:
States with the biggest decreases:
California: Down 8,163, due to fewer applications filed during week with Labor Day holiday
New York: Down 3,449, due to fewer layoffs in transportation, food service, and retail
Michigan: Down 2,115, no reason given
Pennsylvania: Down 1,624, due to fewer layoffs in manufacturing, transportation, health care, entertainment, and hotels and restaurants
Iowa: Down 1,214, no reason given
States and territories with the largest increases:
Louisiana: Up 6,678, due to temporary layoffs at businesses that closed because of Hurricane Isaac
Puerto Rico: Up 1,679, due to temporary layoffs at businesses that closed because of Hurricane Isaac
Mississippi: Up 1,067, no reason given
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
