Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to 2.1 Million

New claims for unemployment benefits fell to 2.123 million last week, data from the Department of Labor showed Thursday.

That brings new unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, since the coronavirus pandemic began to claim jobs ten weeks ago to nearly 40 million.

Economists had been expecting around 2.1 million for weekly claims. The prior week was revised up by 8,000 to 2,438,000.

Claims hit a record 6.87 million for the week of March 27. Each subsequent week has seen claims decline.

Continuing claims, those made after an initial application, fell for the week ended May 16 to just over 21 million, down from nearly 25 million. Those are reported with a one-week lag. The decline suggests that some who lost their jobs have been rehired or found new work.

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending May 16 were in California, Washington, and New York. The largest decrease in claims was in Georgia, New Jersey, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania.