The number of people applying for new unemployment-insurance benefits in New York state in the week ending Aug. 17, rose by 435, or more than 2 percent, to 19,060, from 18,615 the week before, according to a U.S. Department of Labor news release issued today.
The increase indicates a slight uptick in firings in New York for the second straight week, but that comes after four weeks of sharply falling claims that pointed to an improving job market in the state.
The number of New Yorkers continuing to receive unemployment benefits fell slightly in the week ending Aug. 17, declining to 228,021 from 228,501 the week before.
The state data is not seasonally adjusted.
The U.S. Labor Department also reported Thursday that nationwide the number of people filing initial unemployment claims fell by 6,000 to 331,000 for the week ending Aug. 24, compared to the revised figure of 337,000 for the week prior.
The four-week moving average for national initial jobless claims ticked up by 750 to 331,250 in the latest week. The U.S. data is seasonally adjusted.
The Labor Department will release state data for new unemployment-benefit filings for the week ending Aug. 24 next week.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com