New jobless claims fall to 187,000, the lowest it’s been since 1969

The number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 28,000 last week to 187,000, the lowest level for initial claims since September 1969.

“That initial unemployment claims fell to a jaw-dropping 187,000 in the most recent week is proof that the labor market is growing even tighter and we should expect hiring to stay at least as strong as it’s been over the last few months,” said Robert Frick, corporate economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union.

“While higher inflation – especially in gas prices – will take a toll on discretionary spending, most signs point to the economy strengthening quickly now that the Omicron wave has largely waned.”

The U.S. has already added more than 1 million jobs in 2022 after adding 6.8 million last year, pushing the unemployment rate down 3.8 percent. Many businesses have said however that they are still struggling to fill some job openings.

“U.S. businesses are not laying off workers because they know the enormous challenges they’re facing in filling open positions,” said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

President Joe Biden celebrated Thursday’s positive jobless claim numbers in a statement released by the White House, saying that people are getting back to work “at a historic pace.”

“This historic progress is no accident: it’s the result of an economic strategy to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out, starting with the American Rescue Plan,” he said in reference to the Democratic COVID-19 relief legislation passed last year.