US jobless claims hit fresh coronavirus pandemic low

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims hit a fresh low level during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Labor Department on Thursday.

Initial jobless claims decreased 34,000 to 473,000 last week, marking lowest level since March 14, 2020. Analysts expected 490,000 for the week ending May 8, while the previous week was revised up by 9,000 from 498,000 to 507,000.

This marked the sixth time during the coronavirus pandemic that initial jobless claims came below 700,000.

The world's largest economy, however, still has around 9.8 million unemployed individuals after adding only 266,000 jobs last month.

The unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in April, from 6% the previous month, according to the agency.