Fewer workers file for jobless aid — first drop in four weeks
CBSN
The number of workers applying for first-time jobless aid is falling for the first time in a month, indicating the U.S. job market is resuming its steady recovery.
Some 326,000 people filed first-time unemployment claims last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's 38,000 fewer than the previous week, and the first drop after three weeks of steady increases.
Since surpassing 900,000 in early January, the weekly applications, a proxy for layoffs, had fallen more or less steadily, but they remain elevated from pre-pandemic levels. Before COVID-19 slammed the U.S. economy in March 2020, weekly claims hovered between 200,000 and 250,000.

Washington — Amid Trump administration demands for Tehran to keep the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials have told CBS News that there are at least a dozen underwater mines through the vital passageway, according to current American intelligence assessments. Arden Farhi, Kathryn Watson, Caroline Linton, Aimee Picchi and Layla Ferris contributed to this report.

Washington — President Trump said early Monday that he is postponing airstrikes on Iran's power plants after "very good and productive conversations" over the last two days about reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran's foreign ministry denied any such talks. Claire Day contributed to this report. In:











