The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than a year ago. The event signaled that US labor market recovery had entered a new phase amid a booming economy. However the labor market is not out of the woods yet, as 16.2 million people still collecting unemployment checks. Gross domestic product is expected to rise above its pre-pandemic level this quarter, while most economists expect a full recovery in employment in the second half of 2022.
See "U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Drop Below 500,000", Lucia Mutikani, Reuters, May 6, 2021