A sudden drop in US weekly jobless claims

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, indicating a persistent labor shortage in some sectors of the market even as job growth slowed.

On Thursday, the Labor Department said first-time jobless claims fell by 12,000 jobs to 237,000 when adjusted for seasonal factors in the week ending July 8.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 250,000 claims in the latest week.