This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits tumbled last week and are now at levels consistent with a healthy job market.
The Labor Department said Thursday that applications for jobless aid fell 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000. The less-volatile four-week moving average rose 4,750 to 300,750. Jobless claims are at levels last seen before the 2007-2009 Great Recession.
Here are the states with the biggest increases in applications. No state saw a drop of more than 1,000. The unadjusted data is for the week of Aug. 9, one week behind the national figures:
States with the biggest increases:
—California: Up 10,107, due to layoffs in services.
—New York: Up 1,928, due to layoffs in food service, transportation and warehousing and construction.
—Massachusetts: Up 1,451, due to layoffs in retail.
—Michigan: Up 1,423, due to layoffs in manufacturing.
—Florida: Up 1,236, due to layoffs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, the wholesale trade, retail and services.