(Bloomberg) — Fewer Americans filed claims for jobless benefits last week, bringing the average over the past month to the lowest level since 2008, as the economic recovery prompted companies to retain staff.
Employers are slowing job cuts, a sign of confidence, as the U.S. emerges from the worst recession since the 1930s. Sustained employment gains are needed to boost consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.
“We are turning a corner in the labor market,” said Julia Coronado, a senior U.S. economist at BNP Paribas in New York, who had forecast a decline in the weekly jobless claims. “Businesses are gradually starting to have more confidence in the recovery.”
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