Lower Layoffs

Initial weekly jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, were 719,000 for the week ending 3/27/21 and 658,000 for the prior week! These are the two lowest readings since the pandemic began, and they have been gradually trending down since 1/1/21. The four-week moving average is 719,000, its lowest reading since the week ending 3/21/20. However, we have a long way to go. In 2019, the weekly average was just 218,000.