Jobless Claims Fall , to Lowest Level of the Pandemic.
473,000 Americans filed for first-time
unemployment benefits the week ending May 8.
It is the second week in a row that jobless claims
have fallen below 500,000
since the beginning of the pandemic.
While the number of job openings
in the U.S. exceed 8.1 million.
many of the unemployed remain cautious about
returning to work for a myriad of reasons.
Safety concerns, complications over childcare and
renewed calls for better work benefits have led, in part, to
companies creating new incentives to fulfill worker needs.
McDonald's, for instance,
announced a 10 percent wage
increase for nearly 40,000 employees.
To address safety concerns,
Amazon announced a $100 bonus for
new hires who also receive the COVID-19 vaccine