First-time claims for jobless assistance fell last week in the United States, but analysts remain skeptical that the country's labor market is set to rebound.

The government said Thursday that the number of newly unemployed workers seeking financial aid dropped by 35,000 to 353,000. But the Labor Department said changes in the normal summertime layoffs at auto manufacturing plants may have led to the decline, rather than an improvement in hiring.

In another report, the government said orders for durable goods — those expected to last at least three years — rose 1.6 percent in June. The advance was supported with big increases in civilian and military aircraft sales, even as demand slumped for computers, communications equipment and machinery.

Key U.S. financial officials have been stymied in their efforts to boost the country's sluggish economy, the world's largest.

News reports this week have hinted that policymakers at the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, could adopt new policies next week to spur economic growth and attempt to cut the elevated 8.2 percent jobless rate.