Jobless? These 10 intriguing offers could help.

More Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week than at any time since mid-May.

From a low of 605,000 at the beginning of June, the total jobless claims now stands at 627,000, the US Department of Labor reported Thursday. But the numbers are volatile, which is why economists pay more attention to the four-week moving average, which did tick up, but only very slightly.

In our attempt to help, Monitor staffers every week comb the job listings in search of interesting places to work. The most intriguing openings we found this week are in Avondale, La.; Exeter, R.I.; Mobile, Ala.; Minneapolis; Doylestown, Pa.; Sacramento, Calif.; Red Bank, N.J.; Portsmouth, N.H.; Fort Myers, Fla.; and Stockton, Calif.

Among them: the perfect job to handle all those gas-guzzling clunkers that are likely to pile up at car dealerships this summer. Here's the list:

1. Shipfitter
Employer: Northrop Grumman Corporation
Wages/salary: Not listed
Details: Use tools to fabricate and assemble metal parts for the construction of modular units utilized in the various stages of building a marine vessel. (For more information click here.)
Location: Avondale, La. (pop. 5,441; median family income $37,250) is home to the Northrop Grumman shipyard, which is Louisiana’s largest manufacturing employer with over 6,000 employees.

2. Vehicle condition report writer
Employer: Ocean State Auto Auction
Wages/salary: Not listed
Details: Identify damage, missing parts, and mechanical problems by inspecting all customer vehicles at time of receipt (interior, exterior, odometer reading, tire condition, etc.). Also prepare selected vehicles for Internet postings by taking digital pictures and writing condition reports. (For more information click here.)
Location: Exeter, R.I. (pop. 6,045; median family income $74,157) is located in the southern rural part of the Ocean State, where one of the little known attractions is the Yawgoo Valley Ski Area. Despite a very modest elevation, locals say it’s the number of runs you make, not their length, that counts.

3. Bridge tender
Employer: CSX Corporation
Wages/salary: $18.53 to $21.93 and hour
Details: Operate and maintain bridges to ensure the safe passage of water traffic and trains for a Fortune 500 freight transportation company. (For more information click here.)
Location: Mobile, Ala. (pop. 198,915; median family income $39,752) boasts of being the home of America's newest cruise terminal and the future home of the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf.

4. Feed ingredient trader
Employer: Agro Quality Search, Inc.
Wages/salary: Not listed
Details: Trade feed ingredient products with feed, food, and pet companies for a well established Midwest agricultural trading company. (For more information click here.)
Location: Minneapolis (pop. 382,618; median family income $48,602) has more golfers per capita than any city in the country, according to 50states.com.

5. Assistant professor of ornamental horticulture
Employer: Delaware Valley College
Wages/salary: Not listed
Details: Teach studio courses in the environmental design program, such as Landscape Graphics, Site Analysis, and the Built Environment, and assist in the design and implementation of the annual Philadelphia Flower Show exhibit. (For more information click here.)
Location: Doylestown, Pa. (pop. 8,227; median family income $71,988) sits at the heart of Bucks County, an area north of Philadelphia known for its well-maintained covered bridges and plentiful inns

6. Senior entomologist for pesticide development
Employer: Sequence Systems
Wages/salary: $75,000 to $100,000
Details: Provide oversight to the development and product management of insecticides for the preservation of agricultural farmlands throughout the United States. (For more information click here.)
Location: Sacramento, Calif. (pop. 407,018; median family income $42,051) is the oldest incorporated city in the Golden State as well the state capital.

7. Theater props master
Employer: Two River Theater Company
Wages/salary: Not listed
Details: Collaborate with scenic designers and the technical director of a mid-sized professional theater to identify, shop, rent, and/or build properties as required for on-stage productions. (For more details click here.)
Location: Red Bank, N.J. (pop. 11,844; median family income $63,333) is about 24 miles south of Manhattan and a short drive from the Jersey shore.

8. Hydrogeologist
Employer: Jacques Whitford
Wages/salary: Not listed
Details: Use hydrogeologic modeling on groundwater resource assessments and on contaminant fate and transport models. (For more information click here.)
Location: Portsmouth, N.H. (pop. 20,784; median family income $59,630), which was settled in 1623, sits along New Hampshire’s seacoast, just below Maine and about an hour north of Boston.

9. E-Learning designer
Employer: Florida Gulf Coast University
Wages/salary: $50,000 to $55,000
Details: Design and develop E-Learning courses; support faculty and staff in the use of instructional technologies and software applications; promote innovation in the use of E-Learning to assist learning, teaching, and research. (For more information click here.)
Location: Fort Myers, Fla. (pop. 42,208; median family income $32,477) was formed in the mid-1800s as a military outpost during the Seminole Wars. It is located in southwest Florida on the Caloosahatchee River, which leads to the Gulf of Mexico.

10. Parts puller/auto dismantler
Employer: Local facility
Wages/salary: $10 an hour
Details: Pull parts off of salvaged automobiles. (For more information click here.)
Location: Stockton, Calif., (pop. 287,245; median family income $52,142) is the 13th largest city in the state.

– For last week’s offbeat listings, click here.