Briefcase

CVS to close 900 stores over 3 years

CVS Health will close hundreds of drugstores over the next three years, as the health care giant adjusts to changing customer needs and converts to new store formats.

The company said Thursday that it will close about 300 stores a year for the next three years, nearly a tenth of its roughly 10,000 retail locations as it reduces store count density in some places.

CVS Health said it has been evaluating population changes, customer buying patterns and future health needs to “ensure it has the right kinds of stores in the right locations.”

The company also has been expanding the health care services it provides at many locations.

The closings make sense as CVS Health seeks to remake many stores into more of a “one-stop shop” for care, Edward Jones analyst Ashtyn Evans said, adding that the company’s Aetna health insurance business should steer customers to those stores.

The company released no details Thursday on where the closings will occur. It did say they would start next spring.

Jobless claims hit pandemic low

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low of 268,000.

U.S. jobless claims dipped by 1,000 last week from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs, and their steady decline this year – after topping 900,000 one week in early January – reflects the labor market’s strong recovery from last year’s brief but intense coronavirus recession. The four-week average of claims, which smooths week-to-week volatility, also fell to a pandemic low just below 273,000.

Jobless claims have been edging lower, toward their prepandemic level of around 220,000 a week.

Overall, 2.1 million Americans were collecting traditional unemployment checks the week that ended Nov. 6, down by 129,000 from the week before.

From wire reports