Missouri jobless claims drop to lowest during pandemic

The Missouri Department of Labor reported 8,894 inital unemployment claims in the week ending Sept. 12, the lowest number during the pandemic.

That number would still be considered high in recent history. For example, there were 3,976 claims in the week ending Mar. 14.

More from The Associated Press:

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to 860,000, a historically high figure that reflects economic damage from the coronavirus outbreak. Before the pandemic hit the economy, the number signing up for jobless aid had never exceeded 700,000 in a week, even in the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. The Labor Department also said Thursday that 12.6 million are collecting traditional unemployment benefits, compared with 1.7 million a year ago.