Fewer auto industry layoffs occurred in Michigan last week, but manufacturing layoffs, including the auto industry, were higher in Indiana and Kentucky. As a result, initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 4,000 to 308,000 in the week ending Oct. 7, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Oct. 12.
The department's four-week moving average of first-time claims, however, continued its recent decline, falling to 313, 250, a decrease of 750 claims the from the previous week's revised average of 314,000.
