WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday first-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 12,000 in the week ending Sept. 18.
It was the first increase since the week ending Aug. 14. Since then, claims have fallen by an average of 16,750 claims per week.
In the current week, 465,000 first-time claims were filed, while the four-week rolling average dropped by 3,250 to 463,250.
The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.6 percent.
The department said the biggest increases in claims for the week ending Sept. 11 were reported by Florida with 2,755 additional claims, Wisconsin, which added 803 and Virginia, which added 542.
UPI
