Jobless claims plunge to their lowest level in 52 years
CBSN
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, with employers opting against layoffs amid a persistent shortage of workers.
Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969, according to figures released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The drop was much bigger than economists expected.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, also dropped — by 21,000 to just over 252,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020 when the pandemic slammed the economy. Overall, 2 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 13, down slightly from the week before.
Authorities made two gruesome discoveries Tuesday after a Missouri woman walked into a police station and told officers that she fatally shot one of her children and drowned the other, officials said. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said at a news conference that authorities believe both children were killed Tuesday morning.
Strong storms with damaging winds and baseball-sized hail pummeled Texas on Tuesday, leaving more than one million businesses and homes without power as much of the U.S. recovered from severe weather, including tornadoes, that killed at least 24 people in seven states during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.