U.S. unemployment claims fall to new pandemic low of 290,000

A hiring sign is displayed at a furniture store window on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021, in Downers Grove, Ill. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021,. That’s the fewest people to apply for benefits since March 14, 2020, when the pandemic intensified. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)