The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits dropped slightly last week, with layoffs continuing to hold at historically low levels across the country.
According to a Thursday report from the Labor Department, applications for jobless aid totaled 215,000 for the week ending July 4 — a decrease of 2,000 from the prior week. That figure came in below what analysts surveyed by data firm FactSet had predicted, as forecasters had expected around 220,000 new filings.
Weekly unemployment applications are widely viewed as a near real-time snapshot of the U.S. labor market and serve as a reliable indicator of how frequently employers are letting workers go.
Last week’s broader June jobs report from the government showed that employers significantly pulled back on hiring last month, adding just 57,000 jobs — less than half of what was added the month before. That slowdown signals continued caution among businesses. The national unemployment rate did edge down to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though analysts note the decline is largely because many discouraged workers stopped searching for jobs and were no longer counted in unemployment figures.
June’s sluggish hiring followed a stronger three-month stretch of job gains, which had helped ease worries that the conflict in Iran might further destabilize an already fragile labor market.
Weekly claims have generally held within a range of 200,000 to 250,000 since the economy recovered from the pandemic recession. However, hiring momentum began fading roughly two years ago and slowed even more in 2025, attributed in part to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, reductions in the federal workforce, and the lasting impact of elevated interest rates used to fight inflation.
Several major corporations have reduced their headcounts in recent months, including Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks, and Walmart. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced it would eliminate 4,800 positions — approximately 2.1% of its worldwide workforce — with a significant portion of those cuts coming from its Xbox gaming division.
Thursday’s report also showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims — a measure that smooths out weekly fluctuations — declined by 3,750 to 218,750. Meanwhile, the total number of people currently collecting unemployment benefits for the week ending June 27 climbed by 8,000 to 1.81 million, still considered a historically healthy level.
