US jobless claims fall to their lowest level since March 2020

The US Labor Department said today that jobless claims in the United States fell by 92,000 to 498,000, seasonally adjusted, for the week ending May 1, the lowest level since mid-March 2020. Analysts had expected US jobless claims to rise to 540,000 applications last week, and continuing jobless claims rose by 37,000 to 3,690 million for the week ending April 24th.

The external recruitment firm Challenger Gray and Christmas report also showed that layoffs in the United States fell by 25% in April to 22,913, the lowest number since June 2000, and year-on-year layoffs fell by 84% compared to the same period last year.