New filings for unemployment benefits fell last week to their lowest point in 10 weeks, as the pace of layoffs in the United States continues to remain at historically low levels.
According to a Thursday report from the Labor Department, the number of people applying for jobless aid during the week ending July 11 dropped by 8,000, landing at 208,000. That figure came in well under the 219,000 applications that analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had anticipated.
Weekly unemployment filings are widely viewed as a close approximation of layoff activity and serve as a near real-time snapshot of how the American job market is holding up.
Earlier this month, the government released its broader June jobs report, which painted a more cautious picture. Employers added just 57,000 jobs in June — less than half the number added the month before — suggesting that many companies are hesitant to grow their workforces. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that improvement is largely attributed to out-of-work individuals giving up their job searches and no longer being counted among the unemployed.
June’s sluggish hiring followed a relatively strong three-month stretch of job gains, which had helped ease fears that the war in Iran might further destabilize an already fragile labor market.
Since the U.S. economy recovered from the pandemic-era recession, weekly jobless claims have generally held steady in a range between 200,000 and 250,000. However, hiring began to slow roughly two years ago and slowed further into 2025, influenced by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a reduction of the federal workforce, and the lingering effects of elevated interest rates used to combat inflation.
Several major corporations have reduced their headcounts in recent months, including Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks, and Walmart. Last week, Microsoft announced it would be cutting 4,800 positions — roughly 2.1% of its worldwide workforce — with a significant portion of those cuts coming from its Xbox video game division.
Thursday’s report also showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, fell by 4,750 to 214,250. Additionally, the total number of Americans currently collecting unemployment benefits for the week ending July 4 declined by 16,000 to 1.81 million — also considered a historically healthy level.
