First Time Unemployment Claims Up

Massachusetts is one of the state's showing the steepest declines in unemployment. The number of Americans seeking first-time unemployment benefits is up.  The Labor Department says it received 329-thousand requests last week, up 24-thousand from the week prior.

The biggest jumps for claims were in California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Indiana.

The steepest declines besides in Massachusetts were in Oregon, Georgia, Ohio, and Illinois.