US Unemployment Claims Decline as Labor Market Remains Stable

The US Department of Labor (DOL) reports that initial applications for unemployment insurance fell to 187,000 (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending July 18, 2026, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average also declined to 207,500, indicating a continued easing in new unemployment claims. Meanwhile, insured unemployment remained relatively stable at 1.796 million, with the insured unemployment rate holding at 1.2%.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) also reported that unadjusted initial claims totaled 192,296, down nearly 22% from the previous week. Continued unemployment claims across all programs increased slightly to 1.86 million for the week ending July 4, 2026, but remained below the level recorded a year earlier. Overall, the report suggests that layoffs remain relatively low and the labor market continues to show resilience.