Weekly Jobless Claims Drop to Lowest Level in More Than 50 Years

Weekly jobless claims fell to a record low last week.

According to the Department of Labor, the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits last week reached 199,000, a 71,000 decrease from the week prior.

The department noted it is the lowest level of initial claims since November of 1969 when they stood at 197,000.

President Joe Biden issued a statement responding to the report, saying, “Last year, there were 21 million unemployment insurance claims before the Thanksgiving holiday. Today, there were 2.4 million. This is a historic jobs recovery: 5.6 million jobs created since I took office and an unemployment rate of 4.6% — two full years earlier than experts predicted was possible.”

He added, “More Americans are getting back to work and more Americans have money in their pockets, thanks to the American Rescue Plan and the vaccination campaign.”

The president acknowledged “we have more work to do before our 💰Economy is back to normal, including addressing prices increases that hurt Americans’ pocketbooks and undermine gains in wages and disposable income.”

Biden explained it is “so critical that the Senate pass the Build Back Better Act, which, according to leading economists, will cut costs for American families without adding to price pressures.”

Concluding his statement, Biden said, “Today’s data reinforce the historic economic progress we are making and the importance of building on that progress in the weeks ahead.”

Glassdoor Senior Economist Daniel Zhao weighed in on the report, saying, “Layoffs are hitting new lows amid ongoing labor shortages as employers look to hold onto hard-to-find workers.”

In September, a total of 4.4 million Americans quit their jobs, as IJR reported. Zhao suggested “there are likely some delta-induced quits here.”

He continued, “Workers are fed up with working conditions and feel unsafe and quitting even though they might not immediately jump into a new job.”