New Jobless Claims Fall Below 1 Million

About 960,000 workers filed for unemployment insurance last week, which marks the first time that initial claims dipped below one million since mid-March, when the coronavirus pandemic first took hold and economic lockdowns forced workers home.

The weekly claims figure for the week ending Aug. 8 dropped fell below the 1.18 million claims from last week, but remains well above historic highs. The pre-pandemic record for initial weekly claims was 695,000, from 1982, another recession.

The number of laid-off workers applying for unemployment aid fell below 1 million last week for the first time since the pandemic intensified five months ago yet still remains at a high level. The viral pandemic keeps forcing layoffs just as the expiration of a $600-a-week federal jobless benefit has deepened the hardships for many.

The Labor Department said applications fell to 963,000, the second straight drop, from 1.2 million the previous week. The decline suggests that layoffs are slowing, though last week’s figure still exceeds the pre-pandemic record of...