The numbers: The rate of layoffs in the U.S. fell in the first week of April and returned near the lowest levels since the early 1970s.

Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 233,000 in the week ended April 7. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 230,000 reading.

The more stable monthly average of claims rose by 1,750 to 230,000, the government said Thursday.

The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, also increased by 53,000 to 1.87 million.

What happened: Claims subsided in early April after a holiday-related boost at the end of March that pushed them to the highest level of 2018.

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The nation’s unemployment rolls have also fallen to the lowest level since 1974, based on the weekly average over the past month.

Big picture: Layoffs are near a 45-year low and show no sign of rising. Companies increasingly complain about a shortage of skilled labor with the unemployment rate at a 17-year low of 4.1%, making it harder for them to fill a record number of job openings. Even last month’s slowdown in hiring is likely to be just a blip.

What they are saying?: “With labor so hard to find, the bar for letting people go is very high, so layoffs will remain a close to their current levels for some time yet,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.