Statement on Unemployment Insurance Claims

Today we learned that, for the fifth consecutive week, initial unemployment claims are down. The number of people newly filing for unemployment has now fallen to the lowest level since the pandemic started, dropping from an average of 833,000 Americans in the week before I took office to fewer than 285,000 Americans today, for a decline of nearly 70 percent.

As COVID-19 cases and unemployment claims continue to decline—and as jobs and wages continue to rise—it is clear that America is in the midst of an historic economic recovery, unique across the world. We still have much left to do to finish that recovery and build back better, but today's news is further evidence that we are making strong and steady progress.