Jobless claims in the United States fell to a 15-year low last week, Voice of America reported based on figures released by the Department of Labor.

During the seven days in question, 262,000 Americans signed up for unemployment aid nationwide; that is a drop of 34,000 individuals.

Economists pay close attention to the 300,000-claim threshold: If the total number of applications remains below that figure, the job market is considered to be growing, the broadcasting service noted.

In a note to their clients, RDQ Economics co-founders John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros reflected that optimism, the Wall Street Journal said.

"Initial jobless claims continue to signal tightening in the labor market," they wrote. And the data "suggest that the softening in job growth in March may well have been a temporary quirk," Ryding and DeQuadros added.

Another piece of good news came on Thursday in the form of a report showing a solid increase in wages in the first quarter, which is expected to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this year, Reuters detailed.

"We have already seen a great deal of progress in the labor market, and I expect that progress to continue," Federal Reserve Gov. Jerome Powell had told the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce said consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in March; the uptick was largely due to households increasing purchases of big-ticket items, such as cars. Consumers were showing a renewed willingness to spend at the end of the first quarter, a positive omen for consumption in the April to June period, Reuters said.

However, "the rebound in economic activity will likely be curbed by an inventory overhang, a strong dollar and cuts in energy sector investment," the newswire warned.

U.S. stock index futures briefly pared losses after the wealth of data, while prices for government debt fell. There were no marked changes when it came to the dollar's strength in comparison to a number of foreign currencies, Reuters added.