The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid remained elevated for a second straight week because Superstorm Sandy forced many people to seek temporary benefits. The Labor Department said Wednesday that first-time applications for benefits fell by 41,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 410,000. That offset only part of the previous week’s surge. Two weeks ago, the storm drove applications up by 90,000 to 451,000, an 18-month high.

Here are the states with the biggest increases and decreases in applications:

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