More jobless workers in the U.S. sought government financial assistance last week, the latest signal that the American economy is still struggling.

The government said Thursday that 401,000 workers made initial claims for unemployment compensation, up 6,000 from the week before. Economists say that the weekly figure has to consistently fall to 375,000 or less before the nation’s 9.1 percent jobless rate recorded in August will drop.

The latest reading on the number of initial jobless benefit claims comes a day before the government releases its jobs report for September. Analysts say they do not expect the jobless rate to change and that the country may have added only 59,000 new jobs last month. That, however, would be better than the zero figure recorded in August.

About 14 million U.S. workers are unemployed, with millions more working part-time jobs or employed in jobs they consider beneath their skill levels.

Some political analysts say the high U.S. jobless rate could be tied directly to the political fortunes of President Barack Obama, who is seeking re-election to a second four-year term next year. He acknowledged this week that U.S. voters are not “better off” financially than they were before he was elected in 2008.