New U.S. jobless claims down by 8,000 as strong labor market continues

May 26 (UPI) -- New unemployment claims dropped by 8,000 for the week ending May 21, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

There were 210,000 initial jobless claims for the week.

"Demand for labor is strong, layoff activity is low, and conditions are tight," economist Thomas Simons of investment banking firm Jeffries said, according to Market Watch.

Long-term unemployment claims for the week ended May 14 rose to 1.35 million from the previous week's 1.32 million, according to the DOL.

Those long-term unemployed numbers are staying near the lowest level since 1969.

In April the U.S. economy added 428,000 jobs, and President Joe Biden said there have been just 3 months in the past 50 years when the unemployment rate was lower than it was in April 2022.

Further evidence of a strong U.S. labor market were the record 11.5 million job openings in March as 4.5 million workers quit their jobs. It was the highest number of job openings since 2000.

Thursday's report showed unemployment claims dropping in California, Illinois and Kentucky. The report said new jobless claims were lower in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

Missouri was the only state that had an increase of a thousand or more jobless claims.