First-time unemployment claims in Florida increased for a second consecutive week, but the pace remained close to the average this year.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,702 initial claims were filed during the week that ended Sept. 16, up from 5,418 the previous week, which included the Labor Day holiday. Meanwhile, the number of claims filed nationally dropped by 20,000 to 201,000. Florida has averaged 5,331 new claims over the past four weeks. Since the start of the year, the state has averaged 5,767 claims a week.

The Florida Department of Commerce last week said the state had a 2.7 percent unemployment rate in August, with 303,000 people qualified as unemployed from a labor force of 11.12 million. The national unemployment rate was 3.8 percent.