Initial U.S. weekly unemployment claims decreased to 208,000 for the week ending July 11, marking the lowest level in 10 weeks and signaling historically low layoff numbers. The U.S. Labor Department reported this figure on Thursday, which was below the 219,000 new applications anticipated by analysts. The weekly jobless claims are closely watched as an indicator of the U.S. job market's current health.
The four-week moving average of unemployment claims, designed to smooth out weekly fluctuations, also saw a decline, falling by 4,750 to 214,250. In the preceding week, ending July 4, the total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped by 16,000 to 1.81 million, a figure also considered to be within a healthy range.