US Weekly Jobless Claims Hit , New Pandemic-Era Low.<br />The Labor Department reported a <br />total of 348,000 jobless claims for <br />the week that ended on Aug. 14.<br />The number is down 29,000 from <br />the previous week and less than <br />the Dow Jones estimate of 365,000.<br />Ongoing claims fell to 2.82 million, <br />which is also a new pandemic-era low.<br />First-time filings for unemployment <br />insurance hit a new low, despite <br />worries over the delta variant.<br />The last time claims were this <br />low was Mar. 14, 2020, just as <br />the COVID-19 pandemic <br />declaration was announced.<br />Despite the new low, the jobs gap remains large, <br />with six million fewer Americans being considered employed now than prior to the pandemic.<br />Economists suspect a number of reasons for this, including many workers pushing for extra protections<br />as a result of the ongoing pandemic.<br />As a result, wages have been increasing with average hourly wages up 4% year over year in July
