Finance
U.S. Labor Market Defies Gravity: Jobless Claims Plunge to 206,000, Shaking Fed Rate Cut Hopes
The U.S. labor market continues to exhibit a startling resilience that is complicating the Federal Reserve’s path toward monetary easing. New data released on February 19, 2026, revealed that initial jobless claims for the week ending February 14 dropped to 206,000, a sharp decline of 23,000