The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to 576,000 last week, the lowest level since the start of the pandemic and a hopeful sign that layoffs are declining as the economy recovers from the recession.
The Labor Department said on Thursday that applications were down 193,000, from a revised total of 769,000 last week. The number of applications for unemployment assistance has now fallen sharply, reaching a peak of 900,000 in early January.
For the week ending March 27, 16.9 million people were still receiving unemployment benefits, compared to 18.2 million the week before. Those numbers clearly indicate that, although the economy has picked up in recent weeks, millions of people are facing job losses or income and have taken on jobs to pay their bills and rent.
The drop in filings comes after companies added 916,000 jobs in March, the highest number since August, indicating an ongoing recovery is underway with the acceleration of vaccinations, the lifting of restrictions for businesses in many states and when Americans be more willing. to travel, shop and generally spend more. The unemployment rate fell to 6%, less than half of the peak of 15% during the pandemic.
The unemployment rate has fallen steadily, from 14.8% a year ago to 6%. Last time the rate was so low, weekly benefits claims were 350,000, well below current levels.
Economists give several reasons for the discrepancy. For starters, many states are still struggling to handle the backlog in applications from previous weeks. As a result, now-reported requests may stem from layoffs weeks earlier.