U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to Another Pandemic Low

Jobless claims declined to a new pandemic low last week, in a sign hiring is primed to strengthen as workers return to the labor market.

Unemployment claims fell to 473,000 last week from a revised 507,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims are now at the lowest level since mid-March 2020, when the pandemic shut down the economy. They remain more than twice as high as levels seen before the pandemic struck last spring.

“Employers are really clinging to their talent,” said Jay Denton, chief analyst for...