Official figures show that new orders for US manufactured goods rose in December, as a measure of future business investment rebounded.
Separate figures also showed that new claims for jobless benefits rose only moderately last week, suggesting the labour market was still improving.
Durable goods orders climbed 3% last month, the Commerce Department said. This was better than the 2% rise expected by economists.
Durable goods range from toasters to big-ticket items like aircraft which are meant to last three years and more.
Orders last month were buoyed by 5.5% increase in bookings for transport equipment as orders for civilian aircraft surged 18.9%.
Non-defence capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched indicator of business spending plans, advanced 2.9%. Business spending, which has helped the economy to recover from the 2007-09 recession, had been showing signs of cooling but December's rebound in new orders suggested corporations might be growing more willing to invest.
In a separate report, the Labor Department showed new US claims for unemployment benefits rising last week but the underlying trend continued to point to improving labour market conditions.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, the Labor Department said. The previous week's figure was revised up to 356,000 from the previously reported 352,000.
While last week's rise partially unwound the previous week's sharp decline, claims still held below the 400,000 mark that is usually associated with an improving US jobs market.
The four-week moving average for initial claims, seen as a better measure of labour market trends, fell 2,500 to 377,500.
Job growth has gained momentum in recent months and the unemployment rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5% in December. But the recovery has a long way to go, with 23.7 million Americans either out of work or underemployed.
