US jobless claims dip to one-year low, as reopening gathers pace

The drop in unemployment claims signals the economy is opening back up and consumers are eager to unleash pent-up demand.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits last week dropped to a fresh one-year low, suggesting layoffs were subsiding and strengthening expectations for another month of blockbuster job growth in April as a reopening economy unleashes pent-up demand. But the labour market recovery has a long way to go, with the report from the United States Department of Labor on Thursday showing at least 17.4 million people were collecting unemployment cheques in early April, a sign that long-term joblessness was becoming entrenched. “While new layoffs have slowed considerably, they are still nowhere near the level associated with a stable labour market,” said Andrew Stettner, senior fellow at The Century Foundation. “The problem isn’t that unemployed workers are not accepting jobs, but rather that the number of jobless people far outpaces the number of suitable job openings.”