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U.S. Unemployment Claims Drop Amid Job Market Resilience

2/19/2026

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Summary

Story summary

The U.S. Labor Department reports unemployment benefits applications fell 23,000 to 206,000 for the week ending February 14.
The drop follows historically low layoffs despite job cuts at UPS and Amazon.
In January, U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, but revisions trimmed prior gains.
The four-week moving average of jobless claims fell to 219,000, while total claims rose to 1.87 million for February 7.

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Story summary

The U.S. Labor Department reports unemployment benefits applications fell 23,000 to 206,000 for the week ending February 14.
The drop follows historically low layoffs despite job cuts at UPS and Amazon.
In January, U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, but revisions trimmed prior gains.
The four-week moving average of jobless claims fell to 219,000, while total claims rose to 1.87 million for February 7.