Illinois among states with biggest jumps in unemployment claims

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits decreased 6,000 to 312,000 last week, evidence of a stronger job market because fewer workers are being let go.

Here are the states with the biggest increases in applications, according to the Labor Department. The data is for the week that ended June 7, one week behind the national figures. No state reported a decrease in applications of more than 1,000.

States with the biggest increases:

California: Up 9,935, due to layoffs in services

Florida: Up 4,050, due to layoffs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail and services

Illinois: Up 3,248, due to layoffs in transportation, construction and trade

Georgia: Up 2,997, due to layoffs in manufacturing, administrative services, construction and health care

Pennsylvania: Up 2,909, due to layoffs in transportation, food services, social assistance and education

New Jersey: Up 2,757, due to layoffs in trade, manufacturing, transportation and health care

Texas: Up 2,100, due to layoffs in manufacturing, support services, retail, transportation, education and finance

Oregon: Up 1,501, no reason given

Missouri: Up 1,469, due to layoffs in manufacturing, lodging, food services and health care

South Carolina: Up 1,146, due to layoffs in manufacturing

Massachusetts: Up 1,112, due to layoffs in manufacturing, wholesale trade, professional services, health care and administrative and waste services

North Carolina: Up 1,041, due to layoffs in business and food services