208,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims in the week ended July 11, down 8,000 from the prior week and below economists’ 219,000 forecast.
214,250 was the four-week average, down 4,750, while continuing claims for the week ended July 4 fell 16,000 to 1.81 million—both pointing to historically low layoffs.
57,000 jobs were added in June, less than half May’s gain, showing hiring has cooled even as layoffs remain limited; the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% from 4.3%.
Recent cuts at Microsoft, Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart underscore a labor market where hiring has slowed under tariffs, federal workforce reductions and still-high interest rates.