How states fared on US unemployment benefit..

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Washington • The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 316,000 last week, further evidence of an improving job market.

Here are the states with the biggest decreases in applications. No state reported that benefit applications exceeded 1,000. The state data are for the week ended Nov. 16, one week behind the national figures:

States with the biggest decreases:

California: Down 4,644, due to fewer layoffs in service industry

Michigan: Down 3,342, due to fewer layoffs for business managers

Pennsylvania: Down 3,112, due to fewer layoffs in technology, hotels, restaurants, retail, and health care and social services

Texas: Down 2,584, no reason given

New York: Down 2,246, due to fewer layoffs in manufacturing, restaurants and retail

How states fared on US unemployment benefit claims