“Every employment insurance agency, if you ask them, will say it’s, you know, their busiest month,” said Michele Evermore at the Century Foundation, who specializes in unemployment insurance. “The industries that you see decline in January are seasonal, holiday-related, travel-related, retail and construction and outdoor stuff.”

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Wisconsin dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 5,532 in the week ending Jan. 18, down from 6,156 the week before, the Labor Department said.

Jobless claims applications ticked up modestly last week, but the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in more than three years

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Indiana dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 4,630 in the week ending January 18, down from 5,904 the week before, the Labor Department said.