Job Security Helps Explain Why Americans Becoming More Confident

For employed Americans, the probability of being fired hasn’t been this low in almost 15 years.

An average 282,250 workers a week applied for jobless benefits in the month ended April 4, the fewest since June 2000, according to Labor Department data issued Thursday in Washington. Another report showed consumer confidence rose last week to an almost eight-year high as Americans said it was a good time to shop.