United States Initial Jobless Claims

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell by 10,000 to 235,000 on the period ending July 20th, below market expectations of 238,000. Despite this decline, the claim count remained significantly above this year’s average, indicating that although the US labor market is still historically tight, it has softened since its post-pandemic peak. In the meantime, the outstanding claim count decreased by 0,000 to 1,851,000 on the week ending July 13th. The four-week moving average for initial claims, which reduces week-to-week volatility, rose by 250 to 235,500. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, claims tumbled by 55,502 to 225,090, with contractions noted in New York (-7,979) and Michigan (-6,659).