Weekly jobless claims fall below 500,000, setting new pandemic low

That’s down 92,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level, a bigger decrease than economists expected and the lowest figure since March 2020. The streak of declines, which started with a surprise drop in mid-April, suggests the recovery is gaining traction, pulling scores of people back into the folds of the labor market as business restrictions continue to loosen and vaccination numbers climb.