Jobless aid applications: Which states fared best?

By The Associated Press

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid fell 25,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 370,000, as a temporary spike caused by Superstorm Sandy has faded. Weekly applications have fallen back to a level consistent with modest hiring.

Here are the states with the biggest increases and decreases in applications. The state level data is for the week ended Nov. 24, one week behind the national data.

States with the biggest decreases:

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New Jersey: Down 23,966, due to fewer storm-related claims from the construction, transportation, hotel and restaurant industries

California: Down 7,053, due to fewer layoffs in all sectors, primarily in the service industry

New York: Down 6,682, due to fewer layoffs in the restaurant, health care and transportation industries

Texas: Down 6,425, because state offices were closed for Thanksgiving

North Carolina: Down 2,609, due to fewer layoffs in restaurants, business services, health care, and machinery

States with the biggest increases:

Wisconsin: Up 5,876, no reason given

Oregon: Up 2,328, due to layoffs because of winter weather and holidays

Ohio: Up 2,252, no reason given

Washington: Up 2,107, due to layoffs in agriculture, construction and manufacturing

Iowa: Up 1,262, due to layoffs in manufacturing