U.S. jobless claims fall to 215,000 in week ending July 4

Applications for unemployment benefits in the United States fell by 2,000 to 215,000 in the week ending July 4, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The total remained near the low end of the 200,000-to-250,000 range that has held since the economy exited the pandemic recession. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected 220,000 new claims.

June employment report Employers added 57,000 jobs in June, less than half the May total. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent, though the decline occurred mainly because some people stopped looking for work. Hiring had increased in the three months before June.

The slowdown followed earlier gains and came after tariffs, federal workforce reductions, and prior interest-rate increases.

Recent company actions Several large employers have reduced staff in recent months. Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks, and Walmart trimmed positions. Microsoft cut 4,800 jobs earlier this week. The four-week moving average of claims fell 3,750 to 218,750. Continuing claims for the week ending June 27 rose 8,000 to 1.81 million.