Jobless plunge to 184,000, lowest level in 52 years
by Zachary Halaschak, Economics Reporter |
| December 09, 2021 08:32 AM
The number of new applications for unemployment benefits dropped 43,000 last week to 184,000, the lowest level for initial claims in 52 years, a sign that layoffs are very rare as employers try hard to hold on to workers.
Thursday's numbers, reported by the Labor Department, add to the general downward trajectory of jobless claims throughout the year.
The jobless claim figures are the lowest since September 1969, when the Vietnam War was raging, President Richard Nixon was in the first year of his presidency, and the hit show The Brady Bunch had not yet aired. The labor force back then was about 81 million, half of what it is now, making Thursday's numbers more impressive.
"It is another one of those ‘we haven’t seen this before’ moments," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. "The level of new job loss is very low, healing from shocking and heartbreaking crisis levels last year."
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/jobless-plunge-to-184-000-beating-expectations
