Initial jobless claims fell below 500,000 last week, the first time that this has happened since the pandemic:

Worker filings for unemployment benefits in the U.S. reached a new low since the Covid-19 pandemic began more than a year ago—the latest sign that the labor-market rebound is gathering force.

Jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell 92,000 last week to 498,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That brings the four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out volatility in weekly data, to the lowest point since the pandemic took hold, though still well above pre-pandemic levels.

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While the number of new applications has been declining, the level of Americans receiving unemployment benefits remains elevated and businesses can’t find enough people to hire. 

I will note again, “Unable to find enough people to hire,” means, “Unwilling to pay enough for the job.”

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This improvement will likely be captured in the Labor Department’s April employment report, which the department will release Friday. Economists forecast that the U.S. economy added one million jobs last month, compared with a gain of 916,000 in March, and project that the jobless rate ticked down to 5.8% from 6% a month earlier.

However, the pandemic’s impact was so severe that economists expect employment to close out this year 1.6% lower than in the fourth quarter of 2019, despite the swift pace of hiring they anticipate in coming months. The number of new jobless claims peaked at more than six million in the spring of 2020. After falling sharply, it then plateaued between 700,000 and 900,000 throughout the fall and winter.

I’ll go with the under, because I always go with the under.

Still, this is undeniably good news.