NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - New weekly claims for jobless benefits in the United States rose last week, the government said Thursday, as the labor market struggled to recover from heavy job cuts in 2001 and 2002.

The Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose to 397,000 in the week ended Jan. 25 from a revised 383,000 the prior week. Economists, on average, expected 385,000 new claims, according to Briefing.com.

Economists consider any number at or above 400,000 to be an indication of labor market weakness.

The four-week moving average of claims, which irons out the fluctuations in the often-volatile weekly data, dropped to 384,000 in the latest week from a revised 387,000 the prior week.

The number of continued claims, or people drawing benefits for more than a week, fell to 3.29 million in the week ended Jan. 18, the latest data available, from a revised 3.34 million the prior week.

Separately, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a paltry 0.7 percent pace in the fourth quarter, compared with 4 percent growth in the third quarter. Economists, on average, expected a growth rate of 0.9 percent, according to Briefing.com.