The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell to a seven-week low last week, suggesting employers may be holding on to workers despite other indications of a cooling labor market and creating no urgency for the Federal Reserve to resume its interest rate cuts.

Initial filings for unemployment benefits in Maryland dropped last week compared with the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday. New jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 2,236 in the week ending July 5, down from 3,147 the week before, the Labor Department said.

Fewer Americans are making new filings for unemployment benefits. In the week through July 5, initial jobless claims fell to 227,000, from a revised 232,000 a week earlier. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast 235,