U.S. jobless claims fell to the lowest number in the last 14 years, as fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits in the four week period ending October 25.

The four-week average of jobless claims, fell to 281,000 in the period ended October 25, the lowest since May 2000, from 281,250 the week before, according to a Labor Department report. Compared with the prior week, applications for benefits rose by 3,000 to 287,000.

“The claims story remains positive,” Russell Price, senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit, told Bloomberg in a related report. “The need for labor continues to grow. That’s helping to increase income, and it gives the consumer the ability to spend.”

Bloomberg reported a separate report released by the Commerce Department showed the economy expanded faster than forecast in Q3/14. Gross domestic product climbed 3.5% after a 4.6% increase in Q2/14, marking the strongest six months of growth since H2/03.

To view the full Labor Department report, click here.

To view the full Bloomberg report, click here.