WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week, but tepid hiring could raise the unemployment rate to 4.3% in August.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended August 23, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 claims for the latest week.

The labor market is stuck in a no-hire, no-fire mode amid President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy, which has raised the nation’s average import duty to its highest in a century. Employment gains averaged 35,000 jobs per month over the last three months compared to 123,000 during the same period in 2024, the government reported in early August.

Domestic demand has

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