Jobless Claims Up Slightly, Remain Below 400,000

WASHINGTON – The number of people seeking unemployment benefits ticked up slightly last week after two months of steady declines.

But the increase isn't enough to reverse the downward trend. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, fell to its lowest level since April. The decline in the average signals that companies are laying off fewer workers.

The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 393,000. It's the second increase in six weeks. The four-week average fell to 394,250. That's the eighth drop in the past nine weeks.

Even so, weekly applications would need to stay below 375,000 consistently to push down the unemployment rate significantly. They haven't been at that level since February.