US weekly jobless claims unexpectedly decline

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, pointing to continued strong labor market conditions.

First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ended July 20, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Refinitiv had expected initial claims to increase by 3,000 to 219,000.

Data for the previous week were unrevised at 216,000.

The four-week moving average of initial claims — a ore accurate measure of labor market trends, because it irons out week-to-week volatility, dropped 5,750 to 213,000 last week.

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