More employers and Americans are enjoying solid job security, according to the latest job aid application report from the U.S. Labor Department.

Weekly applications for jobless aid has dropped by 12,000 from the forecasted 279,000, for the week ending June 13, indicating a tightened labor marker. This nearly 15-year low level of firings indicates that employers are confident enough in future consumer demand to retain their staffs. The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits also decreased by 50,000 to 2.22 million in the week ended June 6.

Employers have continued to hire more in recent months – adding 280,000 jobs in May alone; causing the unemployment rate to drop as more Americans apply for work. The Federal Open Market committee said that “underutilization of labor resources has also diminished somewhat” since its last meeting in April.

Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, said this data is “very encouraging labor market news.”

Cheaper gas prices and increased job growth have allowed more consumers to spend money freely, which in turn has helped alleviate overall unemployment rates.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the current unemployment rate – 5.4% – is just above the level policy makers consider to be reflective of a “stable job market.” She continued to say that more progress is needed,

Those who are working part-time bacause they can’t find full-time work suggests “that some cyclical weakness in the labor market remains,” Yellen added during a press conference. “So, although progress clearly has been achieved, room for further improvement remains.”

Healthier consumers will play a key driver of growth in the second half of this year. With consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.