This morning, initial jobless claims for the week ending December 4th dropped to 184,000, the lowest weekly count since 1969. These claims represent first-time filings for state unemployment benefits. The fact that employers have laid-off so few employees in recent weeks is a clear indication of the scarcity of available workers. Through the end of November, the total number of unemployed Americans receiving jobless benefits was just under two million. By contrast, there were more than 32 million receiving benefits in June 2020, and more than 12 million as recently as four months ago before the federal unemployment benefits program ended.

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