Initial unemployment claims fell by 75,000 this week:

New applications for unemployment benefits fell last week after a recent jump, an indication that layoffs are easing but remain high as the labor market continues to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions.

Weekly initial claims for jobless benefits, a proxy for layoffs, fell by 75,000 to a seasonally adjusted 712,000 in the week ended Nov. 28, the Labor Department said Thursday. That follows two consecutive increases and comes amid evidence that the economy continues to recover from the spring’s shutdowns, but at a slower pace. Last week’s level was only 1,000 more than the lowest level recorded since March, and well down from this year’s peak of nearly 7 million—but was still higher than any level recorded before 2020.

Several economists said they see the latest decrease as a possible anomaly related to last week’s Thanksgiving holiday. The data tends to be volatile around holidays, which affect states’ ability to process claims.

I’m not sure how accurate the numbers are going to be the rest of the year, but they remain historically high.