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Rounak Jain·Stocktwits

Updated Jul 24, 2025 | 10:11 AM GMT-04

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Weekly unemployment claims slid to a more than three-month low, falling for the sixth straight week despite the prevailing economic uncertainty in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

According to data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday, jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 217,000 in the week ended July 19, falling back to levels seen before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities exhibited caution in Thursday morning trade as investors digested the earnings of big companies so far this week and President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to the Federal Reserve today.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was flat at the time of writing, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.2%. Retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF on Stocktwits has been in the ‘neutral’ territory over the past week.

On the other hand, continuing claims, which refer to the number of people claiming unemployment benefits beyond the first week, continued to hover in the 1.96 million range, suggesting that unemployed Americans continue to struggle to find employment, indicating a slowdown in the pace of hiring.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for jobless claims, which smooths weekly volatility, dropped by 5,000 to 224,500.

The largest increase in claims came from New York, at 10,001, followed by Nevada at 4,398, whereas the largest decrease in claims was from Michigan, at 4,867, followed by New Jersey at 3,206.

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