U.S. jobless claims drop to 226,000 as unemployment rate stays at a historically low 4.3% (opens in new tab)

The number of Americans applying for fell modestly last week as U.S. applications for in the week ending June 13 dropped by 4,000 to 226,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s in line with the 225,000 new applications forecast by analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet.Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.Despite concerns that the would further squeeze a , h...