About 199,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

 

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment statistics on Wednesday (one day early due to the holiday). It showed that about 199,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on November 20th. That's the lowest weekly figure in several decades. But don't be fooled by that. We are still millions of jobs filled below where we were before the pandemic hit.

Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending November 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 199,000, a decrease of 71,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since November 15, 1969 when it was 197,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 268,000 to 270,000. The 4-week moving average was 252,250, a decrease of 21,000 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 272,750 to 273,250.