Jobless claims have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a healthy labor market, for 119 straight weeks, the longest such stretch since 1970. The labor market is near full employment, with the jobless rate at a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.
The number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid increased by 6,000 to 1.94 million in the week ended June 3rd. The continuing claims have now been below 2 million for nine straight weeks. The last time they were consistently under 2 million was in 1973.