Jobless claims fall almost 250,000 to 1.19 million to mark new pandemic low
August 06, 2020 at 08:48 AM EDT
Initial jobless claims fell in early August for the first time in three weeks and touched the lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic began more than four months ago, a surprising decline that suggest some improvement in the labor market despite an increase another viral outbreak. New applications for unemployment benefits, a rough gauge of layoffs, sank by 249,000 to 1.19 million.