The number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance dropped unexpectedly this week, but they are likely having a difficult time getting new jobs.

U.S. initial jobless claims declined last week, according to the Department of Labor, extending a stretch of evidence that layoffs have remained constrained.

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell for a sixth straight week, decreasing by 4,000 to 217,000 in the week ended July 19. Continuing claims were little changed at 1.96 million in the previous week.