The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims fell to one of the lowest levels recorded in decades last week, providing another indication that employers have continued to hold onto workers despite broader uncertainty in the economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 1,000 to 197,000 during the week ending Sept. 19. Initial claims are closely watched as a gauge of layoffs.

Claims have reached that level only a small number of times in recent decades. From 1970 through 2018, there were no weeks in which initial claims fell as low as the latest reading. Since then, claims have reached comparable levels only eight times, including three times this year.

The four-week moving average, which reduces the effect of weekly fluctuations, also declined to 202,250. That was the lowest reading in six weeks and another historically unusual result.

Data going back to 1967 show the four-week average has fallen to that level only 93 times. Most of those instances occurred between 1967 and 1969. From 1970 through the end of 2025, the average reached comparable levels only seven times.

The broader trend is even more unusual. Average initial claims during the first 38 weeks of 2026 have stood at roughly 209,947. According to Labor Department data, that is only the third time the average has been that low during the first 38 weeks of a year. The other two instances occurred in 1968 and 1969.

The next-lowest comparable figure was recorded in 2019, when average claims through the same point of the year stood at 215,553.

Continuing claims, which measure people remaining on unemployment benefits, were little changed at approximately 1.72 million during the week ending Sept. 12. That figure remains near its lowest level since 2023.

The latest figures point to an unusual combination in the labor market: employers have been laying off relatively few workers, while the number of people remaining on unemployment benefits has also stayed comparatively low.

The data do not by themselves measure hiring or overall job creation, but the historically low level of new claims indicates that widespread layoffs have remained limited through much of 2026.