11/12/2021

Unemployment Claims Steadily Declining

Claims drop to pandemic low of 267,000

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low 267,000 last week as the job market recovers from last year's sharp coronavirus downturn.

Jobless claims fell by 4,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, dropped by nearly 7,300 to 278,000, also a pandemic low.

Applications for unemployment aid have been falling mostly steadily since topping 900,000 in early January and are gradually nearing prepandemic levels of around 220,000 a week. Claims, a proxy for layoffs, have now dropped for six straight weeks.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Associated Press.