Jobless Claims Drop Below 1 Million

WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of laid-off workers in the U.S. applying for unemployment aid has fallen below 1 million for the first time since the pandemic intensified in March. It’s the second straight drop, but applications remain at an extraordinarily high level. The Labor Department says applications fell to 963,000 from 1.2 million the previous week. The decline suggests that layoffs are slowing, though last week’s figure is still above the pre-pandemic record of just under 700,000.