Jobless claims fell 13,000 last week

First-time claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week, a sign that employers are keeping their workers even as they have recently slowed their pace of hiring.

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000, keeping levels near historic lows, Labor Department said Thursday.

{mosads}The four-week average, a better tracker of the job market’s health, fell 3,000 to 267,500. 

The number of people receiving benefits — about 2.2 million — is near a 15-year low, as employers hang onto their workers amid signs that consumers are feeling more confident and will accelerate their spending, especially as they continue saving money at the gas pump.

Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic growth. 

But global turmoil — economic slowdowns in China, Europe and Brazil — in recent months has subdued more robust jobs growth in the U.S. Employers added only 142,000 jobs last month and the three-month average fell below 200,000 to 167,000. 

But economists are optimistic that jobs growth will pick up and the U.S. economy will hit full employment by next summer.

Along with the labor market expansion should come long-awaited higher wages for workers, they say.