WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week as layoffs remained low, underpinning the labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 226,000 for the week ended June 13, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week. 

Though claims have in recent weeks moved to the upper end of their 190,000-230,000 range for this year, the labor market has regained momentum, posting three straight months of strong job gains, after wobbling in 2025. Lower layoffs have kept the unemployment rate at 4.3% for three consecutive months. 

Claims tend to increase at the start of summer as some states allow non-teaching staff to file for unemployment benefits during the long school holidays. Seasonal factors, the model used by the government to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data, do not always capture these moves.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range, but updated quarterly projections showed policymakers expected to raise borrowing costs this year amid growing concerns about inflation.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh told reporters members of the U.S. central bank's policy-setting committee "thought that the labor markets were stable," and "there were some people around the committee who thought that it was trending better than that."

Warsh added, "I'd say the jobs data has been moving in a good direction." 

The claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed businesses and other establishments for the nonfarm payrolls component of June's employment report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 172,000 jobs in May. Part of the strength in job growth is likely from low layoffs as some business surveys have shown weakness in employment measures.

Economists say policy uncertainty, including import tariffs last year and now the Middle East conflict, is constraining hiring. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.81 million during the week ended June 6, the claims report showed. 

The increase in the so-called continuing claims, aligns with data showing many unemployed people are experiencing long bouts of joblessness. The median duration of unemployment jumped to 11.6 weeks in May, the longest stretch since November 2021, from 11.0 weeks in April, the government reported this month.