Weekly jobless numbers reach new pandemic-era low

(KYMA, KECY/NBC News) - The labor department says 547,000 people applied for first time jobless benefits last week, which is a new low for the Covid-19 era.

That number fell well below analysts expectations as the American economy continues to show improvement as businesses start to open back up following the pandemic.

The number of people filing for benefits for two consecutive weeks or more also dropped down to 3.67 million, which is a 34,000 drop.

As vaccinations continue, states and businesses are starting to open up more and companies who were forced to lay people off as they closed their doors, are now hiring ahead of what they are hoping will be a more normal summer.

While this is good, there is still a long way to go. There are still about eight million fewer people working than there were before the pandemic began and there are more than 17 million people still receiving some kind of aid.