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The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, an indicator that the labor market remains strong even as the U.S. Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates in an effort to cool the economy and slowed inflation, AP reported, quoted by BTA.

Claims for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 to 211,000 in the week ended Dec. 10, the US Labor Department said.

This is their lowest level in more than two months.

The four-week average of claims, a less volatile gauge, was down 3,000 to 227,250.

About 1.67 million Americans received unemployment benefits in the week ended Dec. 3, up 1,000 from the previous week.

US jobless claims fall

Currently, American workers have exceptional job security despite the danger, which some analysts warn, of the economy slipping into recession due to the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes.

Last night, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate for the seventh time since March in an effort to combat inflation that is eating away at Americans' paychecks.

With the latest increase of 0.50 percentage points, the prime rate is now in the range of 4.25 to 4.50 percent.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Fed predicts that the key short-term rate will reach a range of 5 percent to 5.25 percent by the end of 2023.