Reports show the U.S. job market getting a little better, the trade deficit getting worse, and the outlook for manufacturing dimming over the next few months.

Thursday's report from the Labor Department says the number of Americans signing up for unemployment aid fell to the lowest level in more than four years.

First-time applicants fell by 30,000 to a nationwide total of 339,000. That means fewer people were laid off last week.

The report was better than most economists had predicted, and was in line with a recent improvement in the unemployment rate, which dropped to 7.8 percent.

Worries about jobs are the top issue in the current presidential election, so such reports are getting close scrutiny by voters and candidates.

A separate report showed the U.S. trade deficit grew by 4.1 percent in August, as the cost of imported oil rose and economic troubles in Europe and elsewhere cut demand for U.S.-made products.

That is one reason that Thursday's survey by the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation predicts slowing growth for the U.S. factory sector over the next few months.

Manufacturing has been a bright spot in the painfully slow U.S. economic recovery.