Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Ohio rose last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased to 11,308 in the week ending January 10, up from 8,473 the week before, the Labor Department said.

Here's a look at how weekly unemployment claims changed in Massachusetts last week compared with the week prior.

The jump in jobless claims comes as new FloridaCommerce data shows November's unemployment rate climbed to 4.2%.

The weekly jobless claims data (not to be confused with the big monthly jobs report) is hit and miss when it comes to its propensity to move the bond market. On occasions where the results fall far from the forecast,

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the other major stock indexes traded higher Thursday as Wall Street awaited first-time unemployment claims and retail sales data. Among the winners was Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing TSM, which jumped on the stock market today after the company's fourth-quarter earnings results.