US initial jobless claims drop by 8,000 from previous week 

Fewer Americans applied for jobless aid last week, with the number of those collecting unemployment benefits already near five-decade lows.

Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 8,000 to 210,000 for the week ending May 21, the Labor Department reported this morning. First-time applications are generally representative of the number of layoffs.

The four-week average for claims, however, which smooths out some of the weekly volatility, ticked up from the previous week to 206,750.

The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits for the week ending May 14 rose slightly from the previous week, to 1,346,000. Last week, that number stood at 1,315,000, the fewest in more than five decades.

American workers are enjoying historically strong job security two years after the coronavirus pandemic plunged the economy into a short but devastating recession. Weekly applications for unemployment aid have been consistently below the pre-pandemic level of 225,000 for most of 2022, even as the overall economy contracted in the first quarter and concerns over inflation persist. See the report.