U.S. Jobless Claims Drop Below 300,000 For First Time Since Pandemic Began

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits dropped below 300,000 for the first time in well over a year in the week ended October 9th, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 293,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week's revised level of 329,000.