The number of Americans filing applications for unemploymentbenefits unexpectedly declined last week to match a more than42-year low, indicating employers are upbeat about aneconomy that bogged down in the first quarter.

Jobless claims dropped by13,000 to 253,000 in the week ended April 9, equaling the level inMarch that was the lowest since November 1973, a report from theLabor Department showed Thursday. The median forecast in aBloomberg survey called for 270,000. Continuing claims alsodeclined, to the lowest since mid-October.

Scant dismissals along with persistent additions to headcountsindicate companies are looking beyond the recent softness in theeconomy. A jobless rate near an eight-year low and the healthyoutlook for employment are among reasonssome economists project consumer spending and growth to pick upthis quarter.

“Jobless claims are running really low and all other labormarket data are telling us that the economy is creating a lot ofjobs,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight inLexington, Massachusetts. “This is further confirmation that thelabor market is strong.”

No states or U.S. territories estimated jobless claims and therewas nothing unusual in the figures, according to the LaborDepartment.

Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey for weekly joblessclaims ranged from 252,000 to 290,000. The previous week’s figurewas revised to 266,000 from 267,000.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than theweekly claims numbers, decreased to 265,000 last week from266,500.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fellby 18,000 to 2.17 million in the week ended April 2, the lowestsince the period ended Oct. 17. The unemployment rate among peopleeligible for benefits held at 1.6 percent. These data are reportedwith a one-week lag.

The four-week average of continuing claims dropped to 2.18million, the lowest since November 2000.

For 58 consecutive weeks claims have been below the 300,000level that economists say is typically consistent with an improvingjob market. That’s the longest stretch since 1973.

Data from the Labor Department on April 5 showed that inFebruary, job listings were still abundant more Americansvoluntarily left their positions, signaling growing confidence inbeing able to land a new job.

The March jobs report, also released earlier this month, showedemployers added 215,000 workers to payrolls after a 245,000February advance, while the jobless rate edged up to 5 percent asmore people entered the labor force.

Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings, and a sustainedlow level of applications has typically coincided with faster jobgains. Layoffs may also reflect company- or industry-specificcauses, such as cost-cutting or business restructuring, rather thanunderlying labor market trends.

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