A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 12th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 221,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 228,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 235,000 from the 227,000 originally reported for the previous week.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.