[US Initial Jobless Claims Fall; Fed May Continue to Focus on Inflation] The number of initial jobless claims in the US fell last week, indicating that the US labor market remains stable despite an unexpected drop in employment in July. The US Labor Department said on Thursday that seasonally adjusted initial claims fell by 4,000 to 203,000 in the week ending August 22, compared with economists' expectations of 208,000. Initial claims are currently at the lower end of the year's range of 189,000 to 230,000, suggesting that even with weak hiring activity, layoffs remain low. The US unemployment rate fell slightly again last month to 4.1%, a historically low level. If the labor market continues to remain stable, the Federal Reserve may be able to continue focusing on controlling inflation. US inflation has been above the Fed's 2% target for 65 consecutive months. Data showed that continuing jobless claims fell by 18,000 to 1.778 million, an indicator that can be used as a reference for hiring.
