By Timothy R. Homan Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week declined to the lowest level since September 2008, signaling firings are easing as employers gain confidence in the economic recovery. Initial jobless claims fell by 28,000, more than forecast, to 452,000 in the week ended Dec. 19, from 480,000 the prior week, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance dropped in the prior week to 5.08 million, and those receiving extended benefits decreased. Improving sales combined with increases in production mean companies may not need to trim staff further after implementing the deepest payroll cuts in the post-World War II era. A strengthening labor market may boost consumer spending, the biggest part of the U.S. economy, and help sustain the recovery. “The labor market is improving but remains soft, albeit not nearly as weak as it was during the first half of the year,” Steven Wood, president of Insight Economics LLC in Danville, California, said before the report. “Consumer spending has also strengthened, which in turn will help propel economic growth.” Jobless claims were estimated to drop by 10,000 to 470,000 last week, according to the median forecast of 43 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 450,000 to 490,000. Claims last week were at their lowest level since Sept. 6, 2008. The report showed the four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure, declined to 465,250 last week from 468,000. The average is the lowest since the week ended Sept. 20, 2008. Continuing claims dropped by 127,000 in the week ended Dec. 12. The continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs. Extended Benefits Today’s report showed the number of people who’ve use up their traditional benefits and are now collecting extended payments decreased by about 2,900 to 4.73 million in the week ended Dec. 5. Thirty-nine of the states and territories where workers are eligible to receive the government’s latest 13-week extension have begun to report that data, a Labor Department spokesman said. President Barack Obama this week signed into law legislation that included a stopgap provision to ensure that unemployment benefits aren’t cut off over the holidays. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, held at 3.9 percent in the week ended Dec. 12, today’s report showed. Thirty-six states and territories reported a decrease in claims, while 17 reported an increase. These data are reported with a one-week lag. Fewer Job Cuts Some companies that have made payroll reductions this year include 3M Co., which said the pace of job cuts will probably slow in 2010. The St. Paul, Minnesota company, maker of 55,000 products from Post-It Notes to respiratory masks, has trimmed about 6,400 jobs worldwide last year, to about 75,000. Chief Executive Officer George Buckley said in an interview this month that he does not expect any large reductions next year unless conditions change. Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to rise as job growth -- measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report -- slows. Monthly firings are easing, Labor Department figures showed Dec. 4. Payrolls declined by 11,000 in November, the smallest drop since the start of the recession in December 2007, and the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from a 26-year high of 10.2 percent. To contact the reporters on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

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