First time unemployment claims dropped to 576,000 in the latest Department of Labor report, their lowest point in 13 months and a decrease of 193,000 from the previous week, a furthering sign that the US economy is on a pace toward growth and recovery for the year. The number of filings was the lowest since March 14, 2020 when the number hit 225,500.
The four-week running average of first time claims, a more reliable metric for looking at long-term trends, fell by 47,000 to 683,000, still a greatly elevated number due to the coronavirus pandemic but on a steady downward trend.
During the week of March 27th, 16.9 million people received unemployment benefits, a decrease of 1.2 million from the previous week.