In the week ended Oct. 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 337,000, an increase of 28,000, or almost 9.1%, from the previous week's revised figure of 309,000. The four-week moving average was 316,500, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised average of 310,500.

In the week ended Oct. 6, the most recent state numbers, California posted the largest increase in initial claims among states, up 6,317, followed by Georgia, up 3,255. California cited layoffs in the construction, service, finance, insurance and real estate industries. Georgia reported layoffs in manufacturing.