U.S. Weekly Unemployment Claims Fall to 208,000, Lowest in 10 Weeks

U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell to 208,000 for the week ending July 11, the lowest level in 10 weeks, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The total declined by 8,000 from the prior week and came in below the 219,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

The four-week moving average of claims declined by 4,750 to 214,250. The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending July 4 fell by 16,000 to 1.81 million. In its June jobs report released earlier this month, the government said employers added 57,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate edged down to 4.2 percent from 4.3 percent in May, though the decline largely reflected people leaving the labor force. Hiring began slowing about two years ago and tapered further in 2025 amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs, his purge of the federal workforce, and the lingering effects of high interest rates.

Companies that have trimmed staff recently include Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks and Walmart.

Last week Microsoft said it was cutting 4,800 jobs, about 2.1 percent of its global workforce, including a large number at its Xbox video game business. Weekly jobless claims have remained in a range mostly between 200,000 and 250,000 since the economy emerged from the pandemic recession.