WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, another sign that layoffs remain low and that most Americans enjoy job security.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dropped to 206,000 last week from a revised 212,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, ticked up to 204,000 last week from 199,750.
Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a harbinger for where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week.
“The labor market has yet to show any sign of wear and tear from the surge in oil prices since the start of the war with Iran and the global energy supply shock,” Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary.
The number of people collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Aug. 8 rose to 1.8 million from 1.78 million the week before.
The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%, partly because the economy has proved resilient in the face of higher energy prices. But it’s also because President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and the ongoing retirement of baby boomers mean that fewer people are competing for jobs: More than 1.3 million people have dropped out of the U.S. labor force over the past year.
The job market is tough for those looking for their first job and for those who lost their jobs and are looking for new work. At the same time, companies, remembering the worker shortages that followed the end of COVID-19 lockups, are still reluctant to let go of staff; but they aren’t eager to take on new workers. Economists regularly refer to a “no hire, no fire″ job market.
In July, companies, government agencies and nonprofits together cut 23,000 jobs. So far this year, employers are adding 61,000 jobs a month. That is an improvement on the 9,700 they averaged last year — the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002. The lingering effects of high interest rates and Trump’s erratic trade policies discouraged companies from hiring in 2025.
Hiring this year remains well below the 166,00 monthly jobs created, on average, in 2023 and 2024, let alone the 491,000 a month recorded during the 2021-2022 hiring boom that followed pandemic lockdowns.
FILE - A job seeker waits to talk to a recruiter at a job fair Aug. 28, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File)
FILE - Hiring sign for sales professionals is displayed at a store, in Vernon Hills, Ill., Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file)
An airplane pilot died Wednesday after a violent collision with a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter near a runway at a small airport, but both state troopers aboard the helicopter survived, authorities said.
The plane was coming down on the runway and veered into the helicopter that was near the ground, Lt. Col. George Bivens, the state’s acting police commissioner, said during a news conference. The FAA and NTSB called it a midair collision but state police didn’t clarify if the plane was off the ground.
“When I say it was a very violent crash, that plane was cut into a lot of pieces,” he said, explaining that part of the investigation will be making sure the pilot was the only person on board. He said the helicopter lost its blades and tail boom and crashed onto its side.
The crash at the small airport in Carlisle, about 110 miles (170 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, involved the Bell 407 helicopter and the Cessna 150, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The Cessna is a two-seat aircraft that is typically used as a trainer aircraft, according to Bivens.
Both of the pilots in the helicopter were trapped until one pushed out a window and helped the other out through it, said Bivens. The pilots, who are from the police's elite aviation unit and had been performing a training exercise, are stable.
“Tonight could’ve been much worse," said Gov. Josh Shapiro. "Tonight could’ve been much more tragic for our state police family.”
Officials are not releasing information about the person who died in the crash until the person's next of kin are informed.
Photos and video on social media showed a helicopter on its side near aircraft debris in a field and a line of emergency vehicles near Carlisle.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he's been in touch with the governor.
Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
Authorities investigate a crash between a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter and a small plane at the Carlisle airport in Carlisle, Pa. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
