Weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level since the pandemic lockdowns began in March.

More Americans (751,000) filed first-time unemployment claims than expected last week, but the Labor Department says that was still 40,000 less than the week before.

“There is a sense we're making progress over the longhaul,” says Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at BankRate.com. “As we look all across the country, there is still 22.6 million Americans who are still on some form of unemployment.”

Here in Houston, ExxonMobil is the latest oil giant to announce major cuts.

“We have people who are just not using transportation as much as they would have in the past, whether it's using the automobile, public transportation or the airlines.”

Hamrick says a COVID vaccine would go a long way in restoring trust in reopening the economy.

“If we do not get some stability with COVID. If we are opting to stay in our homes more often and not taking airplanes or not even going to brick-and-mortar retail destinations or opting not to dine inside, that is going to exact a toll on the U.S. economy.”

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