US jobless claims dip in latest week; goods trade deficit widens in July

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell for a second straight week while the overall number of people on jobless relief rolls slid to the lowest level in a month, suggesting 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.

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.

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.

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, marking the largest goods trade gap since March 2025, when it hit a record as importers rushed to bring in goods ahead of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs announcement.

Exports, which had hit a record in April, declined 2.9% to $199.4 billion, the lowest level since January. The decline was led by an 11.2% drop in exports of industrial goods.

Imports rose 3.7% to $318.2 billion, the highest level since the record high in March 2025, led by an 11.3% jump in capital goods imports, likely tied to equipment needed to power the AI investment boom.