New applications for US unemployment benefits dipped below 300,000 last week for the first time since Covid-19 sent them skyrocketing into the millions early last year, according to government data.

There were 293,000 initial claims for unemployment benefit submitted the week ended October 9, the Labour Department said, 36,000 less than the previous week.

That took the total closer to the 256,000 filed in the week of March 14, 2020, just before the pandemic caused mass layoffs, AFP reports.

Weekly jobless claims, a closely watched metric of labour market health, remained elevated throughout 2020, but dropped substantially this year as Covid-19 vaccines allowed businesses to reopen.