That signals many employers are still cutting jobs even as more businesses reopen, more vaccines go out and federal aid spreads.
Still, a total of 18.9 million people are continuing to collect jobless benefits, up from 18.2 million in the previous week.
The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly variations, dropped to 746,000, the lowest since late November.
The delay provides more time for both taxpayers and the IRS, given the pressure of the pandemic.
“There is light at the end of this dark tunnel of the past year. There is real reason for hope,” President Joe Biden said.
It’s evidence fewer employers are cutting jobs amid a decline in confirmed coronavirus cases and signs of an improving economy.
The February gain marked a sharp pickup from the 166,000 jobs that were added in January and a loss of 306,000 in December.
That’s despite a drop in confirmed viral infections and evidence that the overall economy is improving.
It’s the lowest figure since late November for weekly jobless claims, but the labor market isn’t making much progress.
Uber drivers in Britain should be classed as “workers” and not self-employed, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Friday.
