The number of Americans filling for jobless benefits declined more than expected last week, certainly giving the policy makers a sigh of relief. In an encouraging sign for the job market, initial claims fell by 29,000 to 469,000 for the week ended February 27, from 498,000 revised figure of previous week said a report by the Department of Labour on Thursday.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims that attempts to smooth the data series and helps to identify the trend was 470,750, down 3,500 from February 20 week's revised average of 474,250.

Another positive sign came from the productivity front. Productivity in the United States rose in the last quarter of 2009 by more than previously estimated. Non-farm business productivity rose by a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.9 per cent in the September-December quarter.

In what could be termed as a move in the right direction the number of continuing claims - people filing after their initial claim their standard benefits expires, also declined by 134,000 to 4,500,000 from the February 13 week ended revised level of 4,634,000.