Initial jobless claims fell for a fifth consecutive week, down from 3.839 million last week to 3.169 million this week. While that is still extremely high by historical standards, it is the lowest print since jobless claims starting printing more than a million in late March. In other words, a massive number of people are continuing to file for unemployment insurance, but the pace of increase has slowed down with the peak in the rear-view for the time being.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, this week was only the fourth consecutive decline, with claims now