The US Labor Department reported on the 23rd that new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 22,000 to 187,000 in the week ending July 18, marking a second straight week of improvement. The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to 1,796,000 in the week ending July 11. The four-week average of new claims dropped by 7,250 to 207,500, while the four-week average of continuing claims decreased by 4,000 to 1,805,250.