Jobless Claims Fall to 196,000, Lowest Since July

New unemployment claims fell to 196,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday — down 10,000 from the week before and the lowest level since July. Continuing claims, a measure of people still receiving benefits, dropped to a more than two-year low.

The data covers the week ended September 12, which included the Labor Day holiday — a period where the numbers can swing more than usual because of how claims get processed around the holiday.

Even with that caveat, the drop adds to a broader picture of a labor market that keeps holding up better than some forecasters expected. Fewer people filing new claims, combined with fewer people still drawing benefits weeks later, points to employers generally not shedding workers despite a stretch of high-profile layoffs at individual companies this year.

The report lands just a day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, a move it justified partly by pointing to a labor market that hadn't weakened enough to ease inflation pressure. A jobless claims number this low doesn't make the Fed's job easier — it's more evidence that the economy can keep absorbing higher rates without workers losing jobs, which is exactly the dynamic keeping inflation elevated in the first place.