WASHINGTON – New applications for U.S. unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to their lowest point in more than 50 years, underscoring how few workers are being laid off even as the broader economy faces global uncertainty.
Initial jobless claims dropped by 22,000 to 187,000 for the week ending July 18, the Labor Department said Thursday. According to department figures, that marks the lowest weekly total since the week ending Sept. 6, 1969.
The latest reading also came in far below expectations. Analysts polled by data firm FactSet had projected 215,000 new claims.
Weekly unemployment benefit filings are closely watched because they serve as a timely gauge of layoffs and offer one of the clearest real-time signals of conditions in the U.S. labor market.
The decline comes after the government’s June employment report showed a noticeable slowdown in hiring. Employers added just 57,000 jobs, less than half the previous month’s gain, suggesting businesses remain hesitant to expand payrolls. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though that drop was largely attributed to unemployed workers leaving the labor force and no longer being counted as jobless.
June’s modest job growth followed a stronger stretch of hiring over the prior three months, easing some worries that the war in Iran could further strain an already uneven labor market.
Since the U.S. economy rebounded from the pandemic recession, weekly claims for jobless aid have generally held between 200,000 and 250,000. Still, hiring began to cool about two years ago and slowed further in 2025, pressured by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his reduction of the federal workforce and the continued impact of high interest rates aimed at curbing inflation.
Several major employers have cut jobs recently, including Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.
Earlier this month Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce, including a large number of workers at its Xbox video game business.
Thursday’s layoffs data showed that the four-week moving average of weekly jobless claims, which adjusts for volatility, fell by 7,250 to 207,500.
The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending July 11 was down by 2,000 to just under 1.8 million, also a historically healthy figure.
