Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped unexpectedly last week to the lowest in two months, another sign firings are slowing as the economy pulls out of the recession. Applications fell by 21,000 to 530,000 in the week ended Sept. 19, from a revised 551,000 the week before, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance fell in the prior week to 6.14 million, lower than forecast. The job market may be starting to stabilize as recent gains in homebuilding and manufacturing reinforce forecasts that economic growth will resume this quarter. Nonetheless, unemployment is still rising, a reminder that a rebound in hiring will be gradual and that the economic recovery likely won’t be led by consumer spending. “Initial claims are on a clear downward trend,” Joseph Brusuelas, a director at Moody’s Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “Claims need to decline below 400,000 for the unemployment rate to stabilize.” Economists forecast weekly claims would rise to 550,000 from a previously reported 545,000, according to the median of 44 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 510,000 to 565,000. Continuing claims were forecast to rise to 6.18 million. The report showed the four-week moving average of initial applications, a less volatile measure, fell to 553,500 last week, the lowest since January, from 564,500. States and Territories The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, fell to 4.6 percent in the week ended Sept. 12, from 4.7 percent the prior week. Forty-nine states and territories reported a decrease in claims, while three reported an increase. These data are reported with a one-week lag. Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to rise as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- slows. The economy has lost 6.9 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007, the most of any downturn since the Great Depression. The 216,000 drop in payrolls reported for August, meanwhile, was the smallest in a year and lower than economists projected. President Barack Obama last week said job losses in the U.S. are “bottoming out,” and pointed to gains in exports and manufacturing as signs the economy is expanding again. Fed Statement Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his fellow policy makers yesterday indicated for the first time since August 2008 that the economy is accelerating, even as they recommitted to keep their benchmark interest-rate “exceptionally low” for an “extended period.” Yesterday’s statement from the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee signaled the Fed will maintain its stimulus measures to secure a recovery and reduce unemployment. The U.S. House voted this week to extend jobless benefits for 13 weeks in states hardest hit by the recession. The chamber approved a measure that would continue aid to about 300,000 Americans projected to exhaust their benefits by the end of this month. The aid to people in 27 states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent, when combined with prior extensions, would mean they could receive benefits for as much as 92 weeks. The bill now goes to the Senate. The share of unemployed people who have been without a job for at least 27 weeks was 33.3 percent in August, which translates into about 5 million Americans, according to Labor Department data. That’s down from 33.8 percent in July, the most since record-keeping began in 1948. Auto Industry General Motors Co. said this week that it will add a third shift at three U.S. plants taking on additional production from factories slated to close or be idled. The facilities getting the new shifts are in Fairfax, Kansas; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Delta Township, Michigan, GM said in a statement. The changes will restore 2,400 jobs, the Detroit-based company said. “This is a really good day for GM employees,” Tim Lee, the company’s vice president of global manufacturing, said on a conference call. An additional 600 jobs will be restored at stamping and powertrain facilities, he said. GM is adjusting its factory capacity after scaling back in a government-aided bankruptcy reorganization. The largest U.S. automaker exited court protection July 10. Consolidating vehicle output lets the company run its plants more efficiently. To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

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