U.S. filings for unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level in almost 45 years, just a few days before President Donald Trump’s one-year anniversary in office.
Thursday’s Labor Department figures show that there were only 220,000 jobless claims this past week, the lowest numbers since Feb. 1973, Bloomberg Markets reported.
The 41,000 decrease is the largest drop since April 2009.
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Continuing claims also rose to 1.9 million earlier this month, increasing by 76,000.
These numbers show that employees are remaining in their positions more often due to a scarcity of skilled labor, Bloomberg Markets analyzed.
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In fact, according to anecdotes for the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book released earlier this week, companies are having a hard time trying to find workers to fill open positions.
The 4.1 percent unemployment rate is the lowest since 2000, and could fall even more.
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The Labor Department’s monthly employment survey uses the 12th of each month as the reference point.
Does President Trump get enough credit for the booming economy?
The latest low numbers for unemployment come during a time when the economy is booming under Trump’s presidency.
Rapid job growth has lowered unemployment for all Americans, with employers in the country adding nearly 2.1 million jobs last year — the seventh straight year that hiring has topped 2 million, according to Fox News.
Earlier this month, Trump touted the positive effects the nation’s economy is having on African-American and Hispanic unemployment rate.
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“African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country,” the president wrote. “The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history.”
In October, the unemployment rate for military veterans dipped to a record low of 2.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial average reached 26,000 points for the first time in its 121-year history. This milestone came after the Dow blew past the 25,000-point mark just seven trading days prior, which was a broken record in and of itself.
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The Dow has rocketed 42 percent, or nearly 8,000 points, since President Donald Trump’s election.
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