Unemployment claims drop to 196,000, lowest level since mid-July, beating expectations

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits saw a sharp drop last week, signaling the country is seeing few layoffs.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before, ABC News reported.

The four-week average for claims, which removes volatility from the unemployment figures, dropped to 203,250. For the past year, jobless claims have remained within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 per week.

Economists had expected the figure this week to come in at 207,500, according to a survey from FactSet.