Four states have now shut off the extra $300 per week in federal unemployment benefits.

Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 376,000 from 385,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Black workers and those without college degrees were forced out of jobs at the highest rates during the pandemic.

Some unemployed workers may need new skills and training for jobs that are in high demand.

The pace of hiring picked up in May, with U.S. employers adding 559,000 jobs, but it missed economists’ forecasts.

The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims dropped to 385,000, down 20,000 from the week before.

Many ride-hailing drivers shifted to delivering food during the pandemic and aren’t eager to return to transporting passengers.

The economy is steadily improving, but we’re not back to “normal.”

Young women were already falling behind economically after the Great Recession.

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