Jobless claims lower as extra benefits end

Enhanced unemployment payments during the pandemic might have kept some people from going back to work. Congress and President Joe Biden are letting those extra benefits expire Monday. In the meantime, the U.S. Labor Department reported unemployment claims fell last week by 14,000 to 340,000—the best level since the pandemic began.

Is the labor shortage getting better? Employers say they’re still having a tough time filling open positions, though not as tough as in recent months when job openings set new records. Twenty-five states ended extra unemployment benefits early. An analysis this week by The Wall Street Journal found those states did not necessarily see more jobs filled than states that kept the benefits going. Other factors such as overall economic recovery and variation between industries could explain the findings, the Journal reported.

Dig deeper: Read Charissa Koh’s report in Compassion about the so-called unemployment benefits cliff.