Latest weekly jobless claims fall to 199,000, lowest level since 1969

Initial weekly jobless claims dropped to 199,000 last week, hitting the lowest level since 1969 and roundly beating economists' expectations of 260,000.

Weekly applications for unemployment benefit have been falling in recent weeks as employers hold on to their workforce amid a tight labor market.

The latest weekly data was released one day early, due to the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.

“Getting new claims below the 200,000 level for the first time since the pandemic began is truly significant, portraying further improvement," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “The strains associated with higher prices, shortages of supplies and available job candidates are weighed against low levels of layoffs, wage gains and a falling unemployment rate. Growth will likely be above par for the foreseeable future.”

Companies across almost all sectors are struggling to find workers, holding on tight to the ones that they have, and raising wages to attract more hires.