March 17 (UPI) — New unemployment claims in the United States continue to decline and indicate a strong labor market that’s come a long way since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.
The Labor Department said in its weekly report on Thursday that there were 214,000 new filings last week — beating forecasts from most economists, who expected the report to show about 220,000 new jobless claims.
The figure is a decline of about 15,000 filings from the previous week.
First-time filings are typically viewed as a reflection of the national pace of layoffs.
A total of about 1.4 million U.S. workers were collecting unemployment benefits for the week ending March 5, the department said, which is the lowest total figure since 1970. The total decreased by more than 70,000 last week.
The weekly jobless figure of 214,000 is the lowest so far for any week in 2022. With the exception of two historically low weeks in November and December, Thursday’s report continues a steady decline in unemployment claims as the U.S. economy rebounds from disruptions ushered in by COVID-19 in early 2020.
Thursday’s figures came about a week after the department reported that there were 11.3 million job openings in the United States at the end of January, a historically high number.
Earlier this month, the department said that the U.S. economy added close to 700,000 new jobs during the month of February — a total that shattered expectations and surprised analysts. The jobs report said the national unemployment rate declined to 3.8% last month.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.