The U.S. jobs market edged closer to its pre-pandemic self last week as initial jobless claims totaled just 406,000 for the week ended May 22, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
While that level is still well above the pre-Covid norm, it is the closest to the previous trend since the crisis began in March 2020 and a decline from the previous week’s 444,000.
In a separate report, the Commerce Department left its initial estimate on first-quarter gross domestic product unchanged at 6.4%. Also, orders for long-lasting goods unexpectedly declined by 1.3% in April, against the forecast for a 0.9% gain. However, excluding transportation, orders rose 1%.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 425,000 initial jobless claims at the second GDP reading to show 6.6% growth.
For the week ended March 7, 2020, just before the pandemic became a factor, claims totaled 212,000. As of May 23, 2020, claims totaled nearly 1.9 million.
“Many of the factors that sidelined workers earlier in the recovery are changing to contribute to fast job gains in the rest of 2021. The pandemic is coming under control in the U.S., assuaging health fears,” wrote PNC senior economist Bill Adams.
