US Initial Claims Fall to 2-Month Low

2026-07-16 12:35 By Andre Joaquim 1 min. read

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell by 8,000 to 208,000 on the week to July 11th, well under expectations that it would increase to 217,000, to mark the lowest initial claim count in over two months.

Continuing claims, which are seen as a gauge of outstanding unemployment in the US, fell by 16,000 to 1,805,000 on the week to July 4th, under expectations of 1,820,000.

The improvements indicated that the labor market remains robust with low levels of firing, despite pressure from declining labor force growth.

Meanwhile, initial claims filed by federal employees, which have been under scrutiny due the administration's efforts in decreasing the number of public workers, rose by 20 to 424.



News Stream
US Initial Claims Fall to 2-Month Low
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell by 8,000 to 208,000 on the week to July 11th, well under expectations that it would increase to 217,000, to mark the lowest initial claim count in over two months. Continuing claims, which are seen as a gauge of outstanding unemployment in the US, fell by 16,000 to 1,805,000 on the week to July 4th, under expectations of 1,820,000. The improvements indicated that the labor market remains robust with low levels of firing, despite pressure from declining labor force growth. Meanwhile, initial claims filed by federal employees, which have been under scrutiny due the administration's efforts in decreasing the number of public workers, rose by 20 to 424.
2026-07-16
US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to 6-Week Low
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell by 2,000 to 215,000 on the week to July 4th, below expectations that it would rise to 218,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims, which are seen as a gauge of outstanding unemployment in the US, rose by 8,000 to 1,814,000 in the last full week of June, the highest since late March but below expectations of 1,820,000. While the levels remained slightly above those observed in the start of the second quarter, the data continued to support the view of a low-firing labor market. Meanwhile, initial claims filed by federal employees, which have been under scrutiny due the administration's efforts in decreasing the number of public workers, fell by 40 to 404.
2026-07-09
US Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Ease
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell by 1,000 from the previous week in the last full week of June, the lowest in five weeks, and below market expectations of 220,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims, which are seen as a gauge of outstanding unemployment in the US, rose by 2,000 to 1,814,000 in the third week of June, the highest in three months. The claim counts were higher than those observed in the start of the second quarter, but remained robust on historical standards, maintaining the trend of low firing and low hiring. Meanwhile, initial claims filed by federal employees, which have been under scrutiny due the administration's efforts in decreasing the number of public workers, rose by 13 to 44.
2026-07-02