Jobless Claims <br />Fall Below 400,000 , for First Time Since <br />Beginning of Pandemic.<br />The Labor Department released <br />the new numbers on June 3.<br />For the week ending May 29, first-time jobless claims amounted to 385,000, down from the previous week's 405,000 claims.<br />The last time claims were lower (256,000) <br />was at the beginning of the pandemic, <br />the week of March 14, 2020. .<br />Continuing claims rose by <br />169,000 to 3.77 million.<br />Over 15.4 million Americans are <br />still receiving jobless benefits.<br />A survey released by the Federal Reserve <br />on June 2 found that employers are <br />still having a hard time finding workers.<br />The lack of job candidates prevented some firms from increasing output and, less commonly, led some businesses to reduce their hours of operation, Via Beige Book report.<br />Many businesses continue to <br />offer incentives to attract workers.<br />The U.S. government's extended jobless program is <br />set to expire in September, and several states are beginning <br />to cut back on their benefits programs as well
