Financial News: U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To Lowest Level

U.S. Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Dip To Lowest Level Since Mid-July

09/17/2026 - 10:17:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed an unexpected decline in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 12th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 196,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 206,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 208,000.

With the unexpected dip, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting a multi-decade low of 189,000 in the week ended July 18th.

"Jobless claims data continue to be consistent with a low pace of layoffs and a labor market that has struck a balance between a low rate of hiring and little growth in the labor force," said Grace Zwemmer, U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 203,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 206,000.

Continuing claims, a reading on the number of people receiving ongoing unemployment benefits, also fell by 39,000 to 1.730 million in the week ended September 5th.

The four-week moving average of continuing claims also dropped to 1,761,250, a decrease of 16,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,777,750.

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