Unemployment claims dropped by 43,000 to 184,000 last week, the lowest since September 1969
A traveler wheels her baggage past a now hiring sign outside a bar and restaurant in Sioux Falls, S.D. | David Zalubowski/AP PhotoWASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week to the lowest level in 52 years, more evidence that the U.S. job market is recovering from last year’s coronavirus recession.
Seasonal volatility likely contributed to last week’s drop as the Labor Department adjusted the numbers to reflect job market fluctuations around the holidays, said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities. Before seasonal adjustments, claims actually rose by nearly 64,000 to almost 281,000.
Overall, just under 2 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 27. Massive government aid and the rollout of vaccines helped revive the economy and the job market by giving Americans the confidence and financial wherewithal to go on a shopping spree, often online, for goods such as lawn furniture and coffee makers. Since April last year, the United States has regained nearly 18.5 million jobs. But the economy is still 3.9 million jobs short of where it stood in February 2020 and the prospects for the economy remain vulnerable to Covid variants such as omicron.
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