The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting that a sharp slowdown in job growth last month was probably an aberration. While other data on Thursday showed housing starts declined in August, upward revisions for groundbreaking in July offered hope that the housing market was continuing to gradually improve. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 280,000 for the week ended Sept. 13, the lowest level since July, the Labor Department said.