Weekly unemployed claims dropped to 166,000 last week
Key takeaways:
- Jobless claims tallied 166,000 the previous week, the lowest since late 1968.
- The decrease of 5,000 from a week ago contemplated revisions in how the Labor Department calculates the initial filings numbers.
The labor market shrank further last week, with initial unemployed claims dropping to their lowest level in almost 53 years, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Initial filings for unemployment fell to 166,000, well below the Dow Jones estimation of 200,000 and 5,000 under the last week's tally, changed sharply lower. The department stated that it changed claims from 2017 to 2021 and revised the seasonal factors to calculate the numbers.
The previous week's total was the lowest since November 1968.
The numbers still reflect a jobs market subject to an extreme worker shortage. There are approximately 5 million more job openings than available workers, driving up wages and spiraling inflation.
Federal Reserve officials are increasing interest rates to narrow excessive demand amid continued struggles in supply chains.
Despite the economy's various barriers, hiring has stayed brisk, with nonfarm payrolls rising by about 1.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.
Persisting claims, however, grew, totaling 1.52 million, according to details that run a week behind the headline number.
Those who get help under all programs fell to 1.72 million. The number was 18.4 million a year back when the government provided enhanced assistance to workers displaced by Covid. The outbreak's renewed spread over the winter showed little effect on the overall jobs numbers.