The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, signaling continued strength in the US labor market, keeping the focus of Federal Reserve officials on fighting inflation.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 187,000 for the week ended July 18.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 212,000 new claims for the same period.

Thursday's report, which covers the survey week for the July jobs report due in about two weeks, is the latest indication of continued stability in the US labor market.

In contrast, the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell to 1.796 million in the week ended July 11.

The unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4.2% in June, its lowest in a year, although the decline was due to a drop in the labor force rather than a reflection of faster hiring.

The US labor market continues to exhibit an unusual balance between limited labor supply, slow job creation, and low layoff rates, which has helped keep the unemployment rate at historically low levels.

This situation has pushed a number of Federal Reserve policymakers to pay more attention to inflation, which remains well above the 2% target, compared to their concerns about the strength of the labor market.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet next week, with widespread expectations of keeping interest rates unchanged, while futures markets point to expectations that the central bank will raise rates by at least a quarter of a percentage point before the end of the year.