newjerseynewsroom.com

Only Texas and Oregon do worse

First-time unemployment claims ticked upward slightly across the nation and New Jersey last week and during the past four weeks, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor.

In seasonally adjusted data, the department estimated 460,000 new jobless claims were filed during the week ending April 3. That represents an 18,000 increase from the revised estimate for the previous week.

The department's four-week moving average of initial claims was 450,250, up 2,250 from the previous average. Extended unemployment benefits were available in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

In terms of raw data, states reported 414,657 new claims for the week, lower than the adjusted estimate but still up from the previous week. New Jersey has the third largest increase in newly unemployed workers, with 1,715, behind only Texas and Oregon.

New Jersey cited layoffs in a number of industries as the reason for the increase, according to the report. Job losses in construction, trades, services, transportation, warehousing and manufacturing all contributed to additional claims.

On the other side of the coin, Michigan saw the largest drop in new jobless benefit claims, 2,240. The explanation is fewer layoffs lately in the already hard-hit auto industry, according to state officials.

But the latest figures remain far below those from a year ago. Unadjusted data showed 623,279 people filed unemployment claims in the corresponding week in 2009.

— JOE TYRRELL, NEWJERSEYNEWSOOM.COM