Jobless Claims Fall to 218,000; Mixed Labor Signals

Initial U.S. jobless claims fell by 14,000 to 218,000 in the week ending Sept. 20, the lowest level since mid‑July and below economists' forecasts of roughly 235,000. The four‑week moving average also decreased and continuing claims stood near 1.93 million, signaling persistently low layoffs. Several states saw notable changes in new filings — New York (12,452), Minnesota (3,009), Ohio (4,341), Maryland (1,941) and Utah (1,161) — while Alaska recorded the largest percentage increase (+25.9%) and South Carolina the largest drop (-37.7%). Analysts say layoffs remain historically low, but other labor data — including a large Bureau of Labor Statistics revision that cut reported job gains over the prior 12 months and a weak August payroll report — have raised concerns about labor‑market health. Those developments helped prompt the Federal Reserve to cut its policy rate by a quarter point.