By Jessica Coacci
U.S. jobless claims fell slightly last week, as firms continued to hold back from widespread layoffs.
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits was 215,000 in the week through June 27, versus the 216,000 reported a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting to see 220,000 new claims.
Continuing claims, which scale with the total size of the unemployed population, was 1.81 million in the week through June 20, versus 1.81 million a week earlier. The data on continuing claims lag the initial-claims data by a week.
Thursday's jobless claims numbers come after the U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June, according to the latest employment situation report from the Labor Department--weaker than what economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected. Still, recent jobless claims figures have been relatively low, suggesting firms aren't laying off employees at alarming rates.
Write to Jessica Coacci at jessica.coacci@wsj.com