Ups and downs of jobless claims

Initial unemployment claims dropped below 100,000 last week in California for the second straight week, federal labor officials reported Thursday.

Bad weather hampered hiring across the U.S., leading to a rise in weekly claims.

Since the onset of the lockdowns in early 2020, California has posted weekly jobless claims well above 100,000 for 45 out of 48 weeks.

During the week that ended Feb. 27, California workers filed about 88,130 initial claims for unemployment, down 2,340 from the 90,470 claims filed in the week that ended Feb. 20, the U.S. Labor Department reported.

Nationwide, initial jobless claims totaled 745,000 last week, up 9,000 from the 736,000 claims filed the prior week.

Though the pace of layoffs has eased since the year began, they remain high by historical standards. Before the virus flattened the U.S. economy a year ago, applications for unemployment aid had never topped 700,000 nationwide in any week, even during the Great Recession.

All told, 4.3 million Americans are receiving traditional state unemployment