The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week, a sign that layoffs declined and the job market is improving.

The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims fell just 7,000 from the previous week to 411,000. Weekly claims have fallen steadily this year from about 900,000 in January.

The economy expanded at a healthy pace in the first three months of the year, the government also reported Thursday, and economists are optimistic that growth will accelerate in the April-June quarter, when it could top 10 percent at an annual rate. As the pandemic fades, states and cities are lifting more business restrictions – California just fully reopened June 15 – and the economy is picking up as consumers are traveling, eating out more, and visiting movie theaters and amusement parks.

Unemployment claims jumped 14,500 last week in Pennsylvania, the biggest gain by far of any state. Pennsylvania revamped its benefits filing system earlier this month, likely leading to some backlogs and distorting the overall data. Thirty-five states reported that claims fell last week.

All told, 14.8 million Americans received jobless benefits during the week ended June 5, the latest data available. That was little changed from the previous week.

With many employers desperate to hire, some states are starting to cut off pandemic-related unemployment aid programs in response to business complaints that the assistance is making it harder for them to find workers. Starting this month, 26 states will end an extra $300 weekly federal unemployment payment and 22 of those states will also cut off all jobless assistance to self-employed, gig workers, and those out of work more than six months. The extra $300 ends nationwide on Sept. 6.

Economists at Bank of America have estimated that those who earned less than $32,000 a year at their previous jobs can receive more in jobless aid with the extra $300. At the same time, the federal government last year set up two