The U.S. Department of Labor said on February 12 that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time in California increased last week compared with the previous week.
The U.S. Department of Labor said new jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, rose to 45,605 in the week ended February 7, up from 43,944 the previous week.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to 227,000 last week, down 5,000 from the previous week’s 232,000.
Virginia had the largest weekly percentage increase in claims, with claims jumping 68.8%. Meanwhile, Missouri had the largest decline in new unemployment claims, falling 43.5%.
USA TODAY Inc. is publishing localized versions of this story on news sites across the country, which is based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment insurance claims report.
This article originally appeared in the Ventura County Star-Telegram: California unemployment claims increased last week