WASHINGTON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, suggesting that the labor market remains stable despite July's surprise job losses. 

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended August 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 202,000 claims for the latest week.

The government reported last week that nonfarm payrolls dropped by 23,000 jobs last month, with downward revisions to May and June numbers. Job growth has a tendency to slow down during summer, a phenomenon that economists attributed to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations related to the timing of the end of the school year.

Claims are hovering in the lower end of their 189,000-230,000 range for this year. Labor market stability was also evident in an NFIB survey this week, which showed a measure of small business employment rebounded in July after four straight monthly declines. Labor market stability, together with signs of mild inflation, if sustained could allow the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in September.

The U.S. central bank last month left its benchmark overnight interest rate in a 3.50%-3.75% range. Three members of the Fed's policy-setting committee dissented. They "preferred" a quarter-percentage-point hike.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.777 million during the week ended August 1, the claims report showed.