Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as employers appear to be holding onto their workers even as the economy has slowed

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits inched up modestly last week as business continue to retain staff despite economic uncertainty around U.S. trade policy.

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits rose by the most in about three months last week in an initial signal that layoffs may be picking up and adding to signs the labor market is weakening.

More Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but U.S. layoffs remain in the same historically healthy range of the past few years

Unemployment claims dropped by 5,000 this week from the previous week's seasonally adjusted level, but still there are nearly 2 million people unemployed, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Ohio dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 4,994 in the week ending August 23,