The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits dropped more than expected last week but remained in line with the deeply troubled labor market, government data showed Thursday. Claims for the week to August 21 dipped to 473,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 504,000, the Labor Department said. The latest figure was better than most economists' expectations of 485,000 but they said it continued to reflect the beleaguered jobless situation threatening to push back the world's largest economy into recession. 'This was a larger decline than was anticipated, and if sustained may ease some of the concerns over the prior week's trip above 500,000,' said economist Andrew Gledhill at Moody's Economy.com. 'Still, even at this reduced sum, initial claims are consistent with a deeply troubled labor market,' he said. The Labor Department said the four-week moving average for the jobless claims, a less volatile indicator than the week-to-week figures, rose to 486,750 from the previous week's revised average of 483,500. But the total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits have fallen, the department data showed. The number of insured unemployed during the week ending August 14 was 4.456 million, a decrease of 62,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 4.518 million. US unemployment was at 9.5 percent, based on July figures. The government will release the August jobs report in about week. Unemployment is the biggest concern for Obama, whose Democratic Party faces the possibility of losing control of Congress in legislative elections in November. 