The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment statistics on Thursday. It showed that another 473,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on 5/8/21. That is the lowest level in over a year, but still about twice as high as it would be in a healthy economy.
To get workers back on the job, we still need to get the virus under control to make workplaces safe. It would also help to raise the minimum wage to a livable wage.
Here is the official Labor Department statement:
In the week ending May 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 473,000, a decrease of 34,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was 256,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 9,000 from 498,000 to 507,000. The 4-week moving average was 534,000, a decrease of 28,250 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 2,250 from 560,000 to 562,250.
