U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level since the spring as many employers hesitate to lay off workers despite a slowing economy.
Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, decreased to a seasonally adjusted 193,000 last week from a revised 209,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The total was the lowest since late April and below the prepandemic average of 218,000 in 2019, when the labor market was also tight.
