But it may rise in the coming weeks as a partial strike by the United Auto Workers union forces automakers to temporarily lay off workers due to a shortage of some materials.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that applications submitted for the first time for government unemployment benefits decreased by 20,000 to 201,000 applications after adjusting for seasonal factors in the week ending September 16.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the number of applications to reach 225,000 in the latest week.
The US economy added more new jobs last August than expected, which reinforces bets that the US Federal Reserve may halt interest rate increases.
US Department of Labor data showed that the number of jobs in non-agricultural sectors reached 187,000 jobs, compared to expectations that the private sector would add 170,000 jobs last month.
The unemployment rate in the world’s largest economy also rose higher than expected to record 3.8 percent, the highest level since February 2022, against expectations that it would remain unchanged at 3.5 percent.
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