WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped slightly last week but remained at a level showing the strains of a weak economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims fell by 5,000 last week to 381,000 after having surged by 27,000 the previous week.

The small improvement was not enough to keep the four-week average from rising to 375,250, pushing it close to the level reached in early April, when the average had jumped to levels not seen since the wave of layoffs following the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.

.