Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits plunged last week to 359,000. It was the lowest level in about 2 months and a hopeful sign that the job market could improve.

Here are the states with the biggest changes in applications. The state data are for the week ended Sept. 15, one week behind the national data.

States with the biggest increases:

California: Up 18,522, due to processing of claims left over from holiday week

Michigan: Up 3,522, due to layoffs in administrative support and waste management services

Florida: Up 2,018, due to layoffs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade

New York: Up 1,969, due to layoffs in construction, retail trade and public administration

Indiana: Up 1,739, due to layoffs in manufacturing

Virginia: Up 1,709, due to layoffs in manufacturing

States with the biggest decreases:

Louisiana: Down 4,150, no reason given