Jobless claims dip in latest week; goods trade deficit widens in July

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.778 million during the week ended August 15, the claims report showed. The continued claims data covered the week for the monthly nonfarm payrolls report for August.

Labor market stability if sustained could allow the Federal Reserve to keep its focus on containing inflation that has run above its 2% target for 65 straight months.

A separate report from the Census Bureau showed the U.S. goods trade deficit widened to $118.8 billion in July from $101.4 billion in June. Exports fell 2.9%, while imports rose 3.7%.

The wider deficit comes as President Donald Trump is trying to reduce it through his aggressive use of tariffs on imported goods.

The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting that the labor market remains stable despite a surprise drop in employment in July.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 203,000 for the week ended August 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 208,000 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.