First-time claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. showed a modest increase in the week ended July 21st, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday.
The report said initial jobless claims rose to 217,000, an increase of 9,000 from the previous week's revised level of 208,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average dipped to 218,000, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 220,750.
Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment assistance, also fell by 8,000 to 1.745 million in the week ended July 14th.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims still climbed to 1,745,750, an increase of9,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,736,250.
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Business News
May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.