US Unemployment Claims Reach Lowest in Over a Year

WASHINGTON - U.S. unemployment compensation claims dropped again last week to their lowest level in more than a year, the Labor Department reported Thursday, as the world’s largest economy continues to show signs it is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The government said 547,000 workers filed for benefits last week, down 39,000 from the revised figure of the previous week. It was the lowest weekly total since mid-March last year, and only the third time in the last 13 months that the weekly total of new jobless benefit claims fell below 700,000.  Until the pandemic, the highest U.S. weekly claims total dating back to the 1960s was 695,000, after reaching a peak of 6.9 million claims 13 months ago. By comparison, unemployment compensation claims in 2019 — before the pandemic began — averaged 218,000 a week.  There is a reason for the continued favorable outlook.