Jobless claims fall for second straight week
After three consecutive weeks of unemployment claims that appeared to rise in tandem with omicron, fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the second week in a row.[Neil Esoy / MGN]
Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits for the second week in a row after three straight weeks of increases.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell by 23,000 to 238,000 last week, from 261,000 the previous week. The four-week average for claims, which compensates for weekly volatility, rose by nearly 8,000 to 255,000.
In total, 1.6 million Americans were collecting jobless aid the week that ended January 22, a slight drop from the previous week.