According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 229,000 last week.
The number of initial jobless claims exceeded 215,000, the weekly average for the period before the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of Americans continuing to file for unemployment benefits increased by 3,000 to 1.312 million.
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, housing starts fell 14.4% in May to 1.549 million units, the lowest level since April 2021. Housing starts have been hampered by the rise in building material prices and labor shortages.
The number of construction starts of single-family houses decreased by 9.2%, while the construction of multi-family houses, which includes apartments and condominiums, decreased by 26.8%.
Building permits fell 7% in May to 1.695 million units.