U.S. jobless claims plunge to lowest point in pandemic
WASHINGTON — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, the lowest point since the pandemic struck and an encouraging sign that layoffs are slowing on the strength of an improving job market.
The Labor Department said Thursday that applications declined 39,000 from a revised 586,000 a week earlier. Weekly jobless claims are down sharply from a peak of 900,000 in early January. At the same time, they’re still far above the roughly 230,000 level that prevailed before the viral outbreak ripped through the economy in March of last year.
“With 135 million Americans having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination and the economy opening up more each day, the number of job opportunities will continue to rise,” said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, a European bank.
About 17.4 million people were continuing to collect unemployment benefits in the week that ended April 3, up from 16.9 million in the previous week. Still, the number of ongoing recipients has declined by about 2.3 million from early March, when the figure was 19.7 million, evidence that more people are being hired. Some long-term unemployed may have also exhausted all their benefits.
Texas and New York were among states with the largest declines, while Florida and Georgia also saw sizeable decreases.
In March, the seasonally adjusted Texas unemployment rate was 6.9 percent, unchanged from February 2021. Texas gained 99,000 total nonagricultural jobs over the month, marking gains in 10 of the last 11 months. Private sector employment increased 106,600 for the month.
“Positive job numbers for March continue to show Texas is on track for continued growth,” said Bryan Daniel, TWC Chairman.
The overall job market has been making steady gains. Last month, the nation’s employers added 916,000 jobs, the most since August, in a sign that a sustained recovery is taking hold. The unemployment rate fell from 6.2 percent to 6 percent, well below the pandemic peak of nearly 15 percent.
The number of available jobs has also jumped in recent weeks, leading many employers to complain that they can’t find enough workers despite still-high unemployment. Several factors — including fears of contracting the virus, child care needs and the $300 weekly federal supplemental unemployment benefit — may be keeping some of those out of work from searching for jobs.
For now, the economy is showing steady signs of recovering. Sales at retail stores and restaurants soared 10 percent in March. Federal stimulus checks of $1,400 have been sent to most adults. And Americans who have kept their jobs have accumulated additional savings, part of which they will likely spend now that states and cities have loosened business restrictions.