They’ll ‘adjust’ the numbers next month, but?
It seems people are going back to work as the pandemic restrictions ease….
A lot of the pandemic government benefits are also ending…..
And workers also have option of taking jobs where they can work from home and save transportation costs …..
New weekly applications for jobless aid fell to the lowest seasonally adjusted level since September 1969 last week, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.
In the week ending March 19, initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 187,000, falling 28,000 from the previous week’s revised level. Last week’s total was the lowest since 182,000 Americans filed claims to start receiving jobless aid during the week of Sept. 6, 1969.
The sharp dip in jobless claims is the latest signal of high demand for workers as businesses continue to face labor shortages and other hiring challenges…
…
“While higher inflation—especially in gas prices—will take a toll on discretionary spending, most signs point to the economy strengthening quickly now that the Omicron wave has largely waned.”
The U.S. has already added more than 1 million jobs in 2022 after adding 6.8 million last year, pushing the unemployment rate down 3.8 percent. Even so, businesses are still struggling to fill a record number of job openings from a labor force down millions of workers from its pre-pandemic size.
Workers have also quit their current jobs at unprecedented rates, typically to take new gigs with better compensation or career opportunities.
With intense demand for workers making it harder and more expensive to hire and retain staff, businesses have been reluctant to make layoffs, even through most of the omicron wave in January….