Jobless Claims Hit 3.169 Million

New claims for unemployment benefits fell to 3.169 million last week, data from the Department of Labor showed Thursday.

That brings new unemployment claims, a proxy for layoffs, since the coronavirus pandemic began to claim jobs to around 33.5 million.

Claims hit a record 6.87 million for the week of March 28. Each subsequent week has seen claims decline. Continuing claims, those made after the initial week of unemployment, rose to 22.6 million, although these are reported with a one week lag.

Reported claims numbers were in-line with expectations. The four-week moving average of claims declined to 4.174 million from 5.035 million last week.