Jobless claims: Another 199,000 individuals filed new claims last week

[BumRushDaShow]

3. WaPo finally got their breaking out

Weekly jobless claims plunge to 199,000, the lowest level in more than 50 years

By Taylor Telford and Aaron Gregg

Today at 8:43 a.m. EST

The number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims fell to 199,000 — the lowest level since November 1969 — the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Claims sank by more than 71,000 from the previous week, notching the eighth consecutive week of declines and falling well below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, average weekly jobless claims hovered around 220,000.

The drop in claims, a proxy for layoffs, was preceded by small decline the week before, which was upwardly revised to 270,000. It’s a stark contrast to this time last year, when weekly unemployment claims were still hovering around 700,000. A pandemic picture that was, up until recently, brightening, coupled with the protracted labor shortage, has cut down on layoffs that wracked the economy in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, said he thinks the trend is likely to continue. “It is reasonable to expect that this proxy for layoffs should continue to improve, reflecting the overall strength of the job market and the need for many employers to retain or add to their workforces,” Hamrick said in comments emailed to The Post.

Hiring also strengthened in October, with the U.S. adding 531,000 jobs. The unemployment rate dropped from 4.8 percent to 4.6 percent. It remains a far cry from its pre-pandemic low of 3.5 percent in February 2020, but marks a significant improvement over the course of 2021. In January, the unemployment rate stood at 6.3 percent.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/11/24/jobless-claims-pandemic/