US jobless claims fall to lowest since mid-July

In the latest report from the US Labor Department, the number of initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since mid-July, marking a significant drop from the previous week's 198,000 claims. The four-week average of claims also decreased by 2,500 to 200,000. As a crucial indicator of job market trends, these low claims suggest strong employment security among most American workers.

Despite rising energy prices that have affected businesses and consumers since Iran conflict started on February 28, the US job market has remained robust. In August, employers posted fewer job openings, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The report also indicated that lay-offs decreased and the number of people quitting their jobs, signifying confidence in their career prospects, slightly decreased as well.

Matthew Martin, a senior US economist at Oxford Economics, noted that while businesses are not hiring rapidly, they are reluctant to let go of their current workforce due to lingering labor shortages from post-pandemic lockdowns. The JOLTS report showed a modest increase in gross hiring, but it remains at low levels. So far this year, employers have added an average of 80,000 jobs per month, with a notable increase of 162,000 in August.

This hiring pace is better than the slow 2025 when monthly job creation averaged 9,700. As of now, employers have added an average of 90,000 jobs per month in 2025, in contrast to the 166,000 monthly jobs created on average in 2023 and 2024, and the 491,000 jobs created per month during the intense hiring boom from 2021 to 2022 following COVID-19 lockdowns.

The Labor Department will release the September jobs report next week, which is expected to show an addition of 90,000 jobs and a low unemployment rate of 4.1%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet.