The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, suggesting that the labor market remains ​stable despite July's surprise job losses.

Initial claims for state ‌unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 for the week ended August 8, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled ​by Reuters had forecast 202,000 claims for the latest ​week.

The government reported last week that nonfarm payrolls dropped ⁠by 23,000 jobs last month, with downward revisions to May ​and June numbers. Job growth has a tendency to slow ​down during summer, a phenomenon that economists attributed to difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations related to the timing of the end ​of the school year.

Claims are hovering in the lower ​end of their 189,000-230,000 range for this year. Labor market stability was ‌also ⁠evident in an NFIB survey this week, which showed a measure of small business employment rebounded in July after four straight monthly declines. Labor market stability, together with signs of mild inflation, ​if sustained could ​allow the ⁠Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in September.

The U.S. central bank last month left ​its benchmark overnight interest rate in a 3.50%-3.75% ​range. ⁠Three members of the Fed's policy-setting committee dissented. They "preferred" a quarter-percentage-point hike.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits after an initial ⁠week ​of aid, a proxy for hiring, fell ​22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.777 million during the week ended August 1, the ​claims report showed.