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Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to
a seasonally adjusted 268,000 for the week ended Nov. 13, the
Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the lowest level
since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
more than 20 months ago.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 260,000 applications
in the latest week.
The seventh straight weekly decline in claims left them just
above the 256,000 level in mid-March 2020. Claims are now in a
range that is associated with a healthy labor market.
They have declined from a record high of 6.149 million in early
April 2020.
The continued improvement is consistent with other data that
have suggested an acceleration in economic activity following a
lull over the summer as a wave of coronavirus infections driven
by the Delta variant battered the nation. The government on
Tuesday reported a surge in retail sales in October. Production
at factories also rebounded sharply last month.
The claims data covered the period during which the government
surveyed business establishments for the nonfarm payrolls
component of November's employment report.
Claims have trended lower since mid-October, which would suggest
stronger employment growth. But the nearly two-year long
pandemic has caused worker shortages, leaving 10.4 million job
openings as of the end of September.
The economy created 531,000 jobs in October. Employment growth
has averaged 582,000 jobs per month this year and the labor
force is down 3 million from its pre-pandemic level.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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