Employers in the U.S. announced fewer job cuts in March than a year earlier, another sign of healing in the labor market.

Planned firings fell by 8.8 percent from March 2011 to a 10-month low of 37,880, according to figures released today by Chicago-based job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Job cuts at government and nonprofit agencies were down 86 percent last quarter compared with the same period in 2011, the report showed.

Dismissals are waning as employers become more optimistic about the economic outlook. At the same time, rising gasoline prices pose a risk to consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the world's largest economy.