Unemployment claims rise slightly nationwide, including in California

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The number of applications for unemployment benefits went up across the nation last week, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Labor Thursday.

According to the labor department, the number of seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 221,000 for the week ending Nov. 2 -- up 3,000 from the week before.

California was among a handful of states with the largest decreases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 26, along with North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and Washington.

By last Saturday, California saw an additional 4,278 initial claims filed compared to the week ending Oct. 26.

Meanwhile, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Texas and Ohio saw the largest increases in initial claims filed.

The number of individuals who received benefits after an initial week of benefits climbed to a seasonally adjusted 1,892,000 for the week ending Oct. 26 -- that's up 39,000 from the week before.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its report of unit labor costs on Thursday. The separate data shows that nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased 2.2% in the third quarter of 2024 (July-September) as output increased 3.5% and hours went up 1.2%.

Unit labor costs, meaning the price of labor per single unit of output, in the nonfarm business sector have increased 1.9% in the third quarter, while hourly compensation went up 4.2% and productivity also rose 2.2%.

Real hourly compensation has risen 2.8% over the last four quarters, according to the report. Click here to take a closer at the report from the BLS.

According to BLS, increases in hourly compensation tend to increase unit labor costs while an increase in productivity tends to reduce them.