New unemployment insurance claims in the United States reached 187,000 for the week ending July 18, 2026, the lowest level since September 1969, according to the US Department of Labor. This figure represents a decline of 22,000 from the previous week and falls well below the 212,000 economists had forecast. This trend describes a labor market that economists call « low-hire, low-fire ». This historically strong employment picture gives the Federal Reserve very little reason to cut interest rates, which could keep liquidity conditions tight and weigh on speculative assets such as crypto.
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