Unemployment claims in Florida declined last week

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Florida dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 5,932 in the week ending August 31, down from 6,402 the week before, the Labor Department said.

U.S. unemployment claims dropped to 227,000 last week, down 5,000 claims from 232,000 the week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Rhode Island saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 43.3%. North Dakota, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 68.8%.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from the U.S. Department of Labor's weekly unemployment insurance claims report .

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Unemployment claims in Florida declined last week