AlQa'dah 4, 1433, Sep 20, 2012, SPA -- The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, the U.S. government said Thursday, but the tone of the report pointed to some weakening in the labor market. The Labor Department reported that jobless claims declined by 3,000 to 382,000 last week. Claims the previous week had been elevated by Tropical Storm Isaac. The four-week moving average of jobless claims, a less volatile measure and a better gauge of labor trends, rose for the fifth consecutive week to 377,750, the highest level in almost three months. Weekly jobless claims are a measure of the pace of layoffs. When they are consistently above 375,000, it usually suggests hiring is too weak to lower the unemployment rate, currently at 8.1 percent. Job creation was weak in July and August. Recent job gains are barely enough to keep pace with the growth of the working-age population and are not enough to rapidly lower unemployment.
