The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly five decades.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs across the U.S., decreased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 in the week ended July 14, the Labor Department said Thursday. This marks the lowest level for claims since December 1969, when there were 202,000 applications for unemployment benefits. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected 220,000 new claims last week.
Thursday’s claims figure underscores a theme playing out for years: Unemployment-benefit applications have remained low, a sign that relatively few Americans are being laid off and seeking assistance in a buoyant U.S. job market.
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