Layoffs just hit a 57-year low. So why does the job market feel so tough?

New unemployment claims haven’t been this low since 1969, but a slowdown in hiring is creating an unusual divide in the U.S. labor market.

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Apart from billionaires, no one seems to feel good about the economy right now—but by one key measure, Americans are doing better than ever.

The latest report from the Department of Labor shows that applications for unemployment benefits have plunged to an almost 60-year low. First-time benefit claims dropped by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted estimate of 187,000 claims for the week ending on July 18—a low not reached since September 1969. 

Because first-time applications for unemployment benefits track with layoffs, the new numbers suggest that some of the biggest fears around layoffs in the U.S. economy aren’t manifesting in job losses, at least right now. Continuing unemployment claims stayed........

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