Weekly jobless claims fall to lowest level since 1969

The number of Americans filing first time unemployment claims fell to 199,000 last week, the lowest level since November 1969, according to the Labor Department. “It is fair to say we didn’t see that coming,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “Getting new claims below the 200,000 level for the first time since the pandemic began is truly significant, portraying further improvement.”