Source: Market Watch

Initial jobless claims fell below 1 million in August for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began almost five months ago, signaling a steady if slow revival in a battered U.S. labor market.

New applications for unemployment benefits, a rough gauge of layoffs, declined to 963,000 last week from 1.19 million at the end of July, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast 1.08 million new claims in the seven days ended Aug. 8.

The number of people receiving traditional jobless benefits through the states dropped by a seasonally adjusted 604,000 to a new post-pandemic low of 15.49 million.

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