Weekly Jobless Claims Drop To New Pandemic Low

The number of Americans who filed new unemployment claims decreased to 267,000 in the week ending Nov. 6 as the labor market continues to improve, the Department of Labor reported Wednesday.

The Labor Department figure shows a 4,000 claim decrease compared to the week ending on Oct. 30, when jobless claims dropped to a revised 271,000. Wednesday’s release marks the lowest number of initial claims since March 14, 2020, when new jobless claims were 256,000.

“Those that are employed have very little fear of being let go,” Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Financial, told The Wall Street Journal.

Businesses in retail, hospitality, leisure and logistics have experienced massive labor shortages, and companies have increased wages to avoid further labor restraints during the holiday season, the WSJ reported.

“Limited labor supply has become a key constraint for businesses and though they are responding with higher wages…it has yet to draw more workers in,” Bank of America analysts told the WSJ.

The U.S. economy recorded an increase of 531,000 jobs in October, and unemployment fell by 0.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The number of unemployed people fell to 7.4 million, down from 7.7 million in September.

Meanwhile, inflation continues to surge as the Consumer Price Index grew 0.9% in October, bringing the index’s year-over-year increase to 6.2%, according to the BLS.