Jobless Claims Fall , to Lowest Level of the Pandemic.
473,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits the week ending May 8.
It is the second week in a row that jobless claims have fallen below 500,000 since the beginning of the pandemic.
While the number of job openings in the U.S. exceed 8.1 million.
Many of the unemployed remain cautious about returning to work for a myriad of reasons.
Safety concerns, complications over childcare and renewed calls for better work benefits have led, in part, to companies creating new incentives to fulfill worker needs.
McDonald's, for instance, announced a 10 percent wage increase for nearly 40,000 employees.
To address safety concerns, Amazon announced a $100 bonus for new hires who also receive the COVID-19 vaccine