US weekly jobless claims at four-month low; labour market regaining footing

Unadjusted claims dropped 47,170 to 709,458 last week, amid declines in Texas, New York and Mississippi, where claims had been boosted in the prior period by harsh weather

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a four-month low last week as an improving public health environment allows more segments of the economy to reopen, putting the labor market recovery back on track.
 

Still, a full recovery from the deep scars inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic will probably take years, with the weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Department on Thursday also showing a whopping 20.1 million Americans collecting unemployment checks in late February.
 

"We're likely on the verge of much lower unemployment claims, but we're not there yet," said Robert Frick, economist