The number of new unemployment claims fell last week to 184,000, the lowest figure in over five decades, another sign of strong economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

What You Need To Know

  • The number of new unemployment claims fell last week to 184,000, the lowest figure since 1969

  • The figure is now below the typical 220,000 per week figure seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

  • The four-week moving average also dropped below 219,000, a pandemic low

  • Since April of 2020, the U.S. has regained nearly 18.5 million jobs after shedding a massive 22.4 million jobs in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic

Weekly unemployment claims by dropped 43,000 from the week prior to the lowest such figure Sept. 1969, the Labor Department announced Thursday.

"Our economic recovery has two key components: getting America back to work, and getting prices and supply chains back to normal," President Joe Biden wrote in a statement. "Simply put, it is about jobs and prices."

The figure is now below the typical 220,000 per week figure seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The four-week moving average also dropped below 219,000, a pandemic low.

The news comes on the heels of November's jobs report, which saw the U.S. economy add 210,000 jobs – falling short of some economists' predictions – and the unemployment rate drop to to 4.2%, a pandemic low.

All told, the number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits sits at under 2 million, according to the Department of Labor.

Weekly unemployment claims have fallen steadily throughout 2021, peaking at more than 900,000 at one point in January. 

Since April of 2020, the U.S. has regained nearly 18.5 million jobs after shedding a massive 22.4 million jobs in March and April due to the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. is still about 3.9 million jobs short of where it was in February of 2020, before the pandemic ravaged the country.