Jobless Claims Below 400,000 For First Time Since COVID-19 Pandemic

American unemployment claims fell below 400,000 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to data released by the Labor Department.

• Seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending May 29 fell 20,000 to 385,000. This is the lowest level since it stood at 256,000 on March 14, 2020.
• The previous week’s level was revised down by 1,000 to 405,000 from 406,000.
• The four-week moving average fell by 30,500 to 428,000. This is the lowest average since March 14, 2020’s 225,500.
• The advance insured unemployment rate for the week ending May 22 was 2.7%, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous week. 
• Insured unemployment was recorded at 3.771 million unemployed individuals, up 169,000 from the previous week.
• The largest increases in initial claims were recorded in Delaware, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, and Rhode Island.
• The biggest drops were in Washington, New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, and Michigan.