Jobless fall to historically low levels as economy brushes off omicron

The number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 17,000 last week to 232,000, an extremely low rate that suggests that employers are increasingly determined to avoid letting workers go.

Weekly jobless claims are seen as a proxy for layoffs and have been watched closely in recent weeks for indications about how COVID-19 affected the labor market. This week’s decline continues a generally downward trend in jobless claim reports since the omicron variant peaked in mid-January and comes after a surprisingly good January jobs report.

The news that layoffs are increasingly rare will buoy President Joe Biden as voters increasingly sour...