Washington, Dhu-AlQa'dah 15, 1437, Aug 18, 2016, SPA -- The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped more than expected last week, the government said Thursday, reinforcing views of labor market strength that could encourage the Federal Reserve (Fed) to soon raise interest rates. The Labor Department reported that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000 for the week ended August 13. Claims for the prior week were unrevised. Economists had expected initial claims to slip to 265,000 in the latest week. Claims now have been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a strong labor market, for 76 straight weeks, the longest such stretch since 1973, when the labor market was much smaller. --SPA 18:40 LOCAL TIME 15:40 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w