Weekly US jobless claims hit fresh Covid-19 pandemic-era low

Weekly jobless claims dropped sharply in the week ended 1 May, with first-time claims hitting a new Covid-19-era low.

Initial claims came to 498,000 last week, according to the Labor Department, better than estimates for a reading of 527,000 and down from the previous week's print of 590,000, which was upwardly revised from the initially reported 553,000.

On the other hand, continuing claims actually ticked higher, rising 37,000 to just below 3.7m, while the four-week moving average for claims edged down to 3.68m, the lowest since late March 2020.