Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, easing concern the job market was taking a turn for the worse.

Jobless claims fell by 27,000 to 365,000 in the week ended April 28, a one-month low, from a revised 392,000 the prior period, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 46 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 379,000 applications.

The plunge in dismissals makes it more likely that the surge over the past three weeks was caused by the timing of the Easter holiday rather than a deterioration in employment. Federal Reserve policy makers last week said that while labor- market conditions have improved, the unemployment rate "remains elevated," helping explain why they stuck to a plan to hold borrowing costs close to zero through 2014.