WASHINGTON — Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits last week held at a four-year low and consumers became more confident, indicating an improving labor market may boost household spending.
Applications for unemployment insurance benefits were unchanged in the week ended Feb. 18 at 351,000, matching the fewest since March 2008, Labor Department figures showed Thursday. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to minus 38.4 in the week to Feb. 19, the strongest reading since April 2008.
“The labor market is better, and a stronger labor market and stronger consumer spending go hand in hand,” said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. “Consumers are going to continue to spend.”
The best January for the Dow Jones industrial average since 1997 also has boosted optimism among households, whose spending makes up 70 percent of the economy. A majority of consumers rated their personal finances as positive for the first time since July, the comfort survey showed.
The median projection in a Bloomberg News survey of 47 economists called for 355,000 claims, marking the fourth straight week that the figures have been better than forecast. The Labor Department initially reported the prior week’s applications at 348,000.
Last week included the 12th of the month, which coincides with the period the Labor Department uses in its survey of employers to calculate monthly payroll growth. The February employment report will be released March 9.
