New jobless claims rose slightly for the week ending April 9, but still stayed at a historically low level, reflecting a robust U.S. labor market with near record-high job openings and few layoffs.

Jobless claims rose by 18,000 to 185,000, according to the Department of Labor, a slight uptick from the week prior, which was the lowest unemployment figure since 1968. 

Weekly applications for unemployment aid have also remained consistently below the pre-pandemic level of 225,000 in recent weeks.

Two years after the coronavirus pandemic sent the economy into a brief but devastating recession, American workers are enjoying extraordinary job security.

Last year, employers added a record 6.7 million jobs, and they’ve added an average of 560,000 more each month so far in 2022. The unemployment rate, which soared to 14.7% in April 2020 in the depths of the COVID-19 recession, is now just 3.6%, barely above the lowest point in 50 years. And there is a record proportion of 1.7 job openings for every unemployed American.

The resilience of the job market and the overall U.S. economy is striking in light of a still-destructive pandemic, the economic consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the highest consumer inflation in 40 years.

Fewer than 1.48 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment benefits in the week of April 2.