Despite the increase in the country’s gross domestic product, the labor market continues to struggle more than analysts had expected.

For the week ended Oct. 24, there were 530,000 initial unemployment claims filed, down 1,000 from the previous week, but above the 525,000 expected by economists surveyed by Briefing.com, CNNMoney.com reported today.

The four-week average of initial claims was down 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average.

The Labor Department said 5.79 million people filed continuing claims for the week ended Oct. 17, which was down 148,000 for the preceding week. The four-week moving average for ongoing claims fell to 5.96 million from the previous week’s average of 6.04 million.

The drop in continuing claims, however, could be a result of people moving off of standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks, to federal extensions. It also could be a result of the expiration of benefits for some Americans.

The Senate is considering a bill that would extend unemployment benefits by 14 weeks in all states, with people in states with an unemployment rate above 8.5 percent receiving an additional six weeks. Iowa’s unemployment rate is 6.7 percent, according to the latest unemployment numbers from September.

It’s estimated that the country will lose another 175,000 jobs in October, which would continue the consistent improvement since the country lost 741,000 jobs in January, according to CNNMoney.com.

View a slideshow of graphical representations of many key economic indicators.