WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly more Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, but claims for jobless aid continue to be anchored near seven-year lows.

The Labor Department said today that weekly applications for unemployment benefits rose 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 312,000. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 310,250. That’s the lowest average since June 2007.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the running average suggests employers are letting go of fewer workers. When businesses are confident enough to hold onto staff, they may also step up hiring. That is a positive sign ahead of May’s jobs report to be released Friday and indicates steady hiring in the months ahead.

“The claims data suggest sustained better payrolls are in the pipeline,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. Shepherdson added that the pace of hiring would quicken “sooner or later,” though he cautioned that a “blockbuster” increase in jobs last month was unlikely.

Fewer Americans are also receiving benefits. The number of recipients declined to 2.6 million, the lowest level since October 2007.

The decline in applications since the start of the year has been accompanied by solid job growth, despite an economy that struggled to grow during the winter.

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