Washington: The number of Americans filing for jobless aid fell for the sixth straight week, hitting the lowest level since mid-April.
The Labour Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 19 fell by 4,000 to 2,17,000. That’s fewer than the 2,27,000 new applications analysts were expecting.
Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as representative of layoffs.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, declined by 5,000 to 2,24,500.
The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the week of July 12 remained stable, rising by just 4,000 to 1.96 million.
The deadline on most of Trump’s stiff proposed taxes on imports were extended again until Aug. 1. Unless Trump reaches deals with countries to lower the tariffs.