According to the Labor Department on Thursday, US claims for joblessness dropped by 8,000 to 198,000, which is down from 206,000 a week earlier. After last year's coronavirus recession, the job market is expanding, lessening unemployment. 

The four-week average fell to 199,000 jobless claims, which is the lowest-seen number since October 1969. 

In the week of December 18, it was reported that 1.7 million American citizens were collecting unemployment benefits from the government, which is the lowest number since March 2020. The number decreased by 140,000 from the week before it. 

The layoffs have decreased gradually most of the year as US employers become increasingly worried to lay employees off for the scarcity of replacements. The US had around 11 million job openings in October 2021, while 4.2 million US citizens quit their jobs in the same month, compared to 4.4 million in September. This is attributed to the increasing number of opportunities. 

All in all, the unemployment rate has decreased to 4.2% in 2021.