WASHINGTON The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fifth straight week to a new pandemic low, the latest evidence that the U.S. job market is regaining its health as the economy further reopens.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dropped to 385,000, down 20,000 from the week before. The number of weekly applications for unemployment aid, which generally reflects the pace of layoffs, has fallen steadily all year, though it remains high by historical standards.
The decline in applications reflects a swift rebound in economic growth and the job market’s steady recovery from the coronavirus recession. More Americans are venturing out to shop, travel, dine out and congregate at entertainment venues. All that renewed spending has led companies to seek new workers.
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US jobless claims drop to 385,000, another pandemic low
Rob Bondurant, a supervisor at Great Southern Industries, a packaging company, loads up a finishing machine in the Jackson, Miss., facility, Friday, May 28, 2021. The lack of workers has forced some supervisors to assume additional duties. Charita McCarrol, human resources manager at the company, cites the abuse by some people of the $300-a-week federal supplement for people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other programs that offered extended support for the unemployed, with providing a soon to end financial staple. She also cited that for some people, a steady payc
Job searches jumped by 5 percent in 22 Republican-led states after each announced moving to end the Biden administration's pandemic unemployment benefit.