New jobless claims plummet to 199K, lowest level since 1969
The number of Americans newly seeking jobless benefits plummeted last week, falling past pre-pandemic levels — to the lowest point since 1969 — more than a year and a half after the start of the pandemic, the feds said Wednesday.
As of last week, initial filings for unemployment benefits, seen as a proxy for layoffs, fell to 199,000, down 71,000 from the prior week’s revised level of 270,000, according to data released Wednesday by the Labor Department.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected to see new claims fall to 260,000, after seeing five consecutive weeks of...