Jobless Claims Drop to 385,000, A Post-Pandemic Low

New jobless claims dropped 20,000 to 385,000 for the week ended May 29, the Department of Labor said Thursday.

Economists had expected claims to fall to 400,000 from last week’s lower-than-expected 406,000. Last week’s figure was revised down by 1,000 to 405,000.

Continuing claims for unemployment claims during the week ending May 22 was 3,771,000, an increase of 169,000 from the previous week’s revised level, which was a record low for the post-pandemic period.

Claims can be volatile week to week so economists like to look to the four-week moving...