Weekly jobless claims fell to 166,000 last week, the lowest level since 1968

A man walking a dog passes by a help wanted sign advertised along East Main Street in East Islip, New York on February 17, 2022.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level in more than 50 years.

The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits dropped to 166,000, well below the estimate of 200,000 and 5000, which was revised sharply lower. The department changed the seasonal factors it uses to calculate the numbers.

The last week's total was the lowest since 1968.

There is a severe worker shortage in the jobs market. Wages have gone up because of the situation in which there are more employment openings than available workers.

Federal Reserve officials are trying to control outsized demand by raising interest rates.

In the first quarter of 2022, nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.7 million, despite the economy's various obstacles.

According to the data that runs a week behind the headline number, continued claims rose to 1.52 million.

1.72 million people received benefits under all programs. The number was 18.4 million a year ago when the government was helping workers displaced by Covid. The jobs numbers were not affected by the renewed spread of the Pandemic.

There were 166,000 jobless claims for the week ended April 2. The number was misstated.