Sixties Similarities

For the week ending 4/2/22, the number of first-time claims for unemployment, a proxy for layoffs, was a remarkable 166,000, the lowest level since the week ending 11/30/68, well over 50 years ago, when the US population was 60% of what it is today, and the working-age population was even less. Moreover, the rate has been below 200,000 for seven straight weeks, and the last time that happened was mid-1969!