First-time jobless claims rise by 9,000

First-time jobless benefit claims rose by 9,000 in the week ending Saturday with 408,000 claims filed, the U.S. Labor Department said. The four-week rolling average for claims filed was 402,500, a drop of 3,500 from the previous revised average, the department said Thursday. The Labor Department issues its monthly report on the employment situation on the first Friday of each month. In July, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent, down from 9.2 percent in June. In the week ending Aug. 6, California had the largest increase in first-time claims with 7,848. Florida had the largest decrease in claims for the week with 2,580 fewer claims filed. Copyright 2011 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.