Layoffs fall to another pandemic low, with under 500,000 unemployment claims

The number of workers filing first-time jobless claims fell to another pandemic low, showing that layoffs are abating as the job market heals.

Some 406,000 people filed for unemployment aid last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It's a drop of 93,000 from the prior week, and marks the fourth week in a row that first-time jobless filings have hit a new low. Another 93,000 people applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program for self-employed and gig workers.