US UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS FALL TO LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1969

 Unemployment benefit falls to the lowest level after many years

Claims for US state unemployment insurance fell last week to the lowest level since 1969 as demand for labor far outstrips supply and runaway inflation keeps the incentive to work high.

Initial jobless claims fell by 28,000 to 187,000 in the week ending March 19, Labor Department data showed Thursday. The median estimate called for 210,000 applications in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Continued claims for state benefits fell to 1.35 million in the week ending March 12.

The drop in claims is consistent with a job market in which employers are desperately trying to hang on to workers and attract new ones.

Applications should be kept low, as the combination of declining savings and decades-long high inflation is increasing Americans' financial incentive to work.