The number of workers applying for unemployment benefits in the United States dropped sharply last week to a level not seen in over 50 years, suggesting businesses were holding on to employees amid a tight labor market. First-time filings for unemployment insurance—a proxy for layoffs—came in at 199,000 for the week ending Nov. 19, the Labor Department said in a report (pdf). That’s a drop of 71,000 from the prior week’s revised level of 270,000 and well-below consensus forecasts of 260,000. Besides notching a fresh pandemic-era low and marking the eighth straight week of declines, Wednesday’s jobless claims number is also the lowest since Nov. 15, 1969, when there were 197,000 filings. “It is fair to say that we didn’t see that coming. Getting new claims below the 200,000 level for the first time since the pandemic began is truly significant, portraying further improvement,” Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick told The …