GALLUP: Record 90% Americans Satisfied With Life… Jobless claims plummet; Near 50-year low

New High of 90% of Americans Satisfied With Personal Life

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  • Americans’ satisfaction with personal life highest in four-decade trend
  • Two in three Americans say they are very satisfied, also a new high
  • High-income households, Republicans, married adults the most satisfied

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nine in 10 Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in their personal life, a new high in Gallup’s four-decade trend. The latest figure bests the previous high of 88% recorded in 2003.

Line graph. Americans’ satisfaction with their personal lives, 1979-2020.

New U.S. jobless claims fall 15,000 to 202,000 and return close to a 50-year low

 

The numbers: The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits at the end of January fell close to a postrecession low, signaling the U.S. labor market is still rock solid despite stiffer economic headwinds.

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Initial jobless claims declined by 15,000 to 202,000 in the seven days ended Feb. 1, the government said Thursday. The figures are seasonally adjusted.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 215,000 reading.

The more stable monthly average of jobless claims, which filters out the weekly ups and downs, dropped by 3,000 to 211,750.

New unemployment applications are seen as a rough measure of how many people are losing their jobs. They touched a 50-year low of 193,000 in April 2019 and have hovered in the low 200,000s since then.

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