US jobless claims fell to their lowest level in two months

The US Department of Labor said that US jobless claims fell by 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 228,000 for the week ending July 15, the lowest level since mid-May.

Analysts had expected jobless claims to reach 242,000 last week, and unadjusted jobless claims fell by 326 to 257,976 last week. The data showed that applications for continuing unemployment benefits in the United States increased by 33 thousand applications to 1.754 million applications during the week ending July 8, and the US economy added 209 thousand jobs in June.