When weekly filings for state unemployment benefits dipped below one million earlier this month, it looked like a glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy job market. But the break in the clouds didn’t last long: Claims jumped to 1.1 million the following week, and stayed above one million last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Another 608,000 people filed for benefits under the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The stubbornly slow decline in claims is just the latest evidence that the recovery is faltering, even as government support for households and businesses is fading. Many economists expect next week's jobs report to show another slow month of rehiring in August. For more on the economy, and how the slowdown is affecting workers, see my story in The New York Times : #economy #job #unemployment …see more