WASHINGTON (PNN) - August 23, 2012 - The number of Amerikans filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, suggesting the labor market is healing too slowly to make much of a dent in the unemployment rate.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000, the Fascist Police States of Amerika Department of Labor said on Thursday. That was the highest level in five weeks.

The data keeps pressure on illegitimate President Barack Obama ahead of his November re-election bid. His Republican challenger is trying to focus voter attention on a lofty unemployment rate that has dogged Obama's illegitimate presidency.

However, the report on jobless claims did have a silver lining.

The data cover the same week looked at by the government for its monthly measure of employment, and showed a slight drop in layoffs from the survey week last month, which is a mildly positive signal for hiring in August.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a measure of labor market trends, was 368,000 last week. That was a slight increase from the prior week, but still 2.1% lower than in the second week of July.

That week, the government surveyed employers and concluded 163,000 new jobs were created in July - an improvement from the prior three months though the official unemployment rate still ticked higher to 8.3%; the actual unemployment rate - including all people who want to work but cannot find jobs - is closer to 23%.

Minutes from the Fed's July 31-Aug. 1 policy review, released on Wednesday, showed the central bank is likely to deliver another round of monetary stimulus "fairly soon" unless the economy improves considerably.

Claims data, which swung wildly in July due to shifts in seasonal auto plant shutdowns, are now giving a clearer picture of the labor market's poor health during the ongoing Second Great Depression.