Aug 20 (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, suggesting that the labor market remains stable despite a surprise drop in employment in July.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 206,000 for the week ended August 15, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 210,000 claims for the latest week.
Claims are hovering in the lower end of their 189,000-230,000 range for this year, indicating that layoffs remain low even if hiring is soft. The U.S. jobless rate ticked down again last month to 4.1%, a historically low level.
Labor market stability, together with signs of mild inflation, if sustained could allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in September.
The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, rose 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.799 million during the week ended August 8, the claims report showed.
(Reporting By Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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