The number of weekly jobless claims — a rough measure of the pace of layoffs — has fallen by more than half since January.

Republican governors say the added federal benefits are discouraging people from taking jobs.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 473,000.

The number of people in the U.S. seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 498,000, the lowest point since the pandemic struck.

They have fallen sharply over the past year but remain well above the 230,000 weekly figure typical before the pandemic struck.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid fell last week to 547,000, a new low since the pandemic struck.

The number last week was 576,000 claims, down sharply from a peak of 900,000 in early January.

And a total of 18.2 million people were receiving some form of jobless aid the week of March 20.

The IRS says the process of recalculating taxpayer returns will stretch into the summer.

That signals many employers are still cutting jobs even as more businesses reopen, more vaccines go out and federal aid spreads.