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The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits decreased last week to the lowest level in more than 50 years, a sign that the job market is recovering rapidly after the recession that caused the coronavirus pandemic.
Unemployment benefits claims fell by 71, 000, until 199, 000, the lowest level since mid- November 1969 . But the seasonal adjustments around Thanksgiving contributed significantly to a larger-than-expected drop. Without adjusting, requests increased by more than 18, 000, up to almost 259, .
Since the 900, 000 requests in early January, requests have been falling steadily to around below its pre-pandemic level, of about 220, 000 weekly requests.
Overall, 2 million Americans cashed a weekly unemployment check on 13 November , an amount less than The last week. Until September 6, the federal government had supplemented the state unemployment insurance programs by paying extra $ 300 Dollars and the extension of benefits to workers .
The labor market has seen a notable improvement since the spring of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to close or reduce hours and kept many Americans at home as a health precaution. In March and April of last year alone, employers cut more than 22 million jobs.
It is estimated that the number of Americans receiving some form of unemployment assistance peaked at more than 33 million in June of 2020 .
Government aid checks, low interest rates and the launch of vaccines gave consumers confidence and the financial means to start spending again.
The companies have carried out 18 million new hires since April 2020 and others are expected to be added 829, 000 this month. However, the United States still has not reached the 4 million jobs it had in February of 2020.
Shortage of labor
For now companies complain of not finding workers to fill job vacancies reaching an almost record number of 10. 4 million in September . In addition, the negotiation conditions in the contracts to return by the employees are increasingly demanding after 4.4 million resigned in August to your employment , which according to experts, is a sign of confidence for finding a Better job.
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