US Unemployment Claims Fall to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Oct. 22, 2021—Unemployment claims fell for a third-straight week, reach a pandemic low of 290,000.

According to a report from the Associated Press, claims dropped by 6,000 over the past week, and the overall rate is now less than a third of what it was at its peak of 900,000 in January. 

Though the unemployment rate has steadily returned to normal, other indicators of economic recovery still remain sluggish. Hiring has slowed over the past two months, many people have stopped looking for work, and more than 2 million jobs lost during the pandemic may not come back due to early retirements. 

According to a Labor Department report, around 3.3 million people were receiving unemployment benefits during the first week of October, down from 3.6 million the previous week and far below the 24 million who were receiving aid at this time last year. 

Image: Vojtech Okenka