US jobless claims fall to pandemic low of 1.19 million

Washington

APPLICATIONS for unemployment benefits in the US fell more than expected last week to the lowest since the pandemic started, in a broad decline across nearly all states, suggesting the labour market is improving.

Initial jobless claims in regular state programmes fell by 249,000 to 1.19 million in the week ended Aug 1, Labor Department data showed on Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 1.4 million.