US weekly jobless claims come in below forecasts at 197,000

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims came in below market expectations last week, pointing to continued stability in the US labor market.

The US Department of Labor said Thursday that initial jobless claims for the week of July 19–25 totaled 197,000, an increase of 9,000 from the prior week. The figure came in below the 200,000 forecast compiled by Dow Jones.

The prior week's initial claims figure was revised upward to 188,000 from 187,000. That reading, covering July 12–18, had marked the lowest level since September 1969 — a 57-year low.

Continuing claims, which track workers receiving unemployment benefits for two or more consecutive weeks, totaled 1.848 million for the week of July 12–18, up 1,800 from the previous week.

Analysts described the US labor market as being in a "slow hiring, slow firing" phase, with neither sharp layoffs nor aggressive recruitment. While inflation this year has continued to run well above the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target, the labor market has remained resilient.