Consumer confidence in the US climbed last week to the highest level in four years as jobless claims fell, pointing to a brighter jobs market that may invigorate the US economy.

Filings for unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to 357,000 in the week ended March 31st, the fewest since April 2008.

Employers probably took on more than 700,000 workers in the first three months of this year, the best quarter for job growth since 2006, a report today may show, while equities rallied the most since 1998.

The improvements may support consumer spending in the face of rising gasoline prices.

“There’s a gradual acceleration under way in the economy,” said Michael Englund, chief economist at Action Economics in Boulder, Colorado. – (Bloomberg)