Though data show US firms rehiring workers, there are also reports many are struggling to find people to take open jobs
Though data show US firms rehiring workers, there are also reports many are struggling to find people to take open jobs

The latest jobs report reached a pandemic-era all-time low, the Labor Department reported Thursday, in another sign that the U.S. economy is slowly recovering.

Jobless claims are now at 360,000 compared to 364,000 since Independence Day weekend. Continuing claims have also fallen from 3.47 million to 3.24 million in the same two-week span.

As the country recovers from the 1 1/2-year health crisis, those receiving pandemic-related benefits have fallen from 14.66 million to 14.2 million. Slow progress is still being made as the total was 33.2 million just a year ago.

Multiple states have ended enhanced benefits provided since the early days of the pandemic. Federal benefits are set to expire in September as economists anticipate a sharp increase of new workers back into jobs.

Labor force participation has dropped 2.7% since February of 2020, and the total number of workers on unemployment is more than 3.7 million higher than the pre-pandemic level.

The employment index has also increased from 20.6% to 29.5% of companies saying they will hire more employees. A forward-looking index has shown a hiring increase of 43.9%, up 2.2 points since June.

A report from the Fed’s “Beige Book” has said economic conditions across the country have shown “moderate to robust growth” while business contacts were “increasingly optimistic about the near-term outlook.” New York has reported the economy is growing at a “strong pace.”

There has also been reported a deceleration in the rate of price increases amid high inflation readings. A Tuesday report showed a 5.4% increase in inflation over the past year.