By Jessica Coacci
U.S. jobless claims fell last week, another sign the labor market remains stable despite economic uncertainty from the war in Iran.
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits fell to 209,000 in the week through May 16, lower than the 212,000 who reported a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting to see 210,000 new claims.
Continuing claims, which scale with the total size of the unemployed population, was 1.78 million in the week through May 9, versus a revised 1.78 million a week earlier. The data on continuing claims lag the initial-claims data by a week.
On Wednesday, minutes of April's Federal Open Market Committee Meeting showed that most participants judged the recent jobs data as stabilizing. However, economists and officials will continue to watch whether the recent oil spike from the Iran conflict could slow economic growth, and eventually weigh on the labor market.
Write to Jessica Coacci at jessica.coacci@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-21-26 0857ET
