Weekly jobless claims fall 12,000 to 219,000
Continuing claims drop 14,000 to 1.829 million
Existing home sales decrease 2.5 in August
Median house price rises 3.1 to 416,700 from year ago

WASHINGTON, Sept 19 Reuters The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a fourmonth low last week, pointing to solid job growth in September and offering confirmation that the economy continued to expand in the third quarter.

The weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy39;s health, also showed jobless rolls shrunk to levels last seen in early June.

The U.S. central bank on Wednesday cut interest rates by 50 basis points to the 4.755.00 range, the first reduction in borrowing costs since 2020, which Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said was meant to demonstrate policymakers39; commitment to sustaining a low unemployment rate.

These hard numbers confirm the message delivered by Fed Chair Powell yesterday, said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics.

The labor market is softening but not imploding as you would expect in a recession. Fed policy is aimed at supporting the job market before a recession shapes up.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 219,000 for the week ended Sept. 14, the lowest level since the middle of May, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast…