Jobless claims dropped last week

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment insurance benefits decreased by 14,000 during the week ending Nov. 22, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Wednesday.

In a report issued a day early in advance of Thanksgiving, the department said the 529,000 initial benefits claims contributed to a four-week rolling average to 518,000, which was up by 11,000 from the previous week's rolling average of 507,000.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.5 percent.

The biggest increases in benefits claims for the week ending Nov. 15 were reported by Illinois with 5,285 additional claims; Michigan, which added 2,697; and Indiana, which added 1,549, the report said.

State-by-state statistics lag a week behind the national report.

For the week ending Nov. 15, the biggest decreases were reported by California with a decline of 9,436 claims; Tennessee, declining by 4,566; and North Carolina with 4,512 fewer claims than the week of Nov. 8.