Last week’s initial unemployment claims in the United States fell below 500,000 for the first time since March 2020, prior to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, continuing a downward trend that started in mid-April, the Washington Post reports.
According to the weekly Department of Labor release, 498,000 people filed first-time unemployment claims, the fourth consecutive week of declines, signalling increasing traction for an economic recovery. A total of 16.2 million Americans were receiving some type of unemployment insurance payments, less than one year ago.
“A bigger than expected decline in new jobless claims is a most pleasant surprise,” Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate, said Thursday in comments emailed to The Post. “The healing of the job market, including reduction of unemployed and those seeking and receiving jobless aid, is as important an economic thread as any being monitored amid the reopening story.”