New applications for unemployment benefits fell nationally last week to the lowest level in three months, but rose in Wisconsin.
National initial claims for benefits dropped 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 405,000 in the week ended July 9, the U.S. Labor Department said today. That’s the lowest amount of new applications since mid-April.
The decline in last week’s claims would have been even steeper if not for a government shutdown in Minnesota triggered by a budget standoff. Minnesota said 11,500 state workers filed applications for jobless benefits last week.
In most years, jobless claims tend to rise in July as many U.S. manufacturers shutter plants to retool them for new products such as the latest auto models.
In Wisconsin, initial claims for unemployment surged last week to 13,547, up from 11,973 in the previous week, according to the state Department of Workforce Development.
