Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to New Pandemic-Era Low

A Now Hiring sign at a Dunkin' restaurant in Hallandale, Fla., on Sept. 21, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The number of American workers filing for unemployment benefits last week fell more sharply than economists expected and hit a fresh pandemic-era low.

First-time filings for unemployment insurance—a proxy for layoffs—came in at 281,000 for the week ending Oct. 23, the Labor Department said in a statement (pdf). The consensus forecast was for 290,000 claims.