US Jobless Claims Retreat Below Pre-Pandemic, Lowest Since 1969

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims decreased by 71,000 to 199,000 last week, retreating below its pre-pandemic level, the US Department of Labor said Wednesday.

The figure is the seventh consecutive weekly decline below 300,000 and "the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969 when it was 197,000," it said.

Analysts expected the figure to come in at 260,000 for the week ending Nov. 20. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 268,000 to 270,000.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in October, down from 4.8% in September, according to the Department of Labor.

The US added 531,000 jobs in October, but 7.4 million people are still out of work as of last month in the world's largest economy where more than 22 million workers lost jobs in March and April of 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. -