July 20 (UPI) — The number of U.S. residents filing for initial unemployment claims last week dropped to its lowest total since mid-May but still remains well over the 200,000 threshold, the Labor Department said in its latest data released on Thursday.
The total for first-time filings for the week ending July 15 reached a seasonally-adjusted 228,000, a drop of 9,000 from the week before. It was the smallest initial total since May 13, when 225,000 filed for unemployment insurance for the first time.