The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell to a seven-week low last week, suggesting employers may be holding on to workers despite other indications of a cooling labor market and creating no urgency for the Federal Reserve to resume its interest rate cuts.

US citizens filing new applications for unemployment insurance fell to 233K for the week ending June 28, as reported by the US Department of Labor (DOL) on Thursday. This print came in below initial estimates and the previous week's revised tally of 237K (revised from 236K).

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell for a fourth week to the lowest in two months during a period that included the Independence Day holiday.