Washington ? New claims for jobless benefits inched up last week but were still at a level suggesting the pace of layoffs is stabilizing. Wholesale prices nudged up for July, too.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance edged up by a seasonally adjusted 2,000 to 398,000 for the week ending Aug. 9.

Even with the rise, claims have been under 400,000 — a level associated with a weak labor market — for four straight weeks, an encouraging sign, economists said. Claims hit a high this year of 459,000 in the middle of April.

The more stable, four-week moving average of new claims fell last week to 394,250, the lowest level since the week ending Feb. 15.

“This points to a clear, if gradual, improvement in labor market conditions,” said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

The number of people drawing jobless benefits for more than one week dropped by 6,000 to 3.7 million for the week ending Aug. 2, the most recent period for which that information is available. That was the lowest level since the middle of July.

In a second report, the Producer Price Index, which measures prices of products before they reach store shelves, rose by just 0.1 percent in July, restrained by falling prices for food and moderation in energy prices. In June, wholesale prices jumped 0.5 percent, mostly reflecting sharply higher costs for energy products.

The performance of the PPI in July matched economists’ expectations. Economists said the report could ease the Federal Reserve’s fears about the remote threat that already-low inflation could keep moving lower and turn into deflation, an economically dangerous slide in prices.

Excluding food and energy prices, which can swing widely from month to month, “core” wholesale prices rose by 0.2 percent in July, compared with a 0.1 percent decline in June. Rising prices for cars, light trucks and pharmaceutical preparations contributed to the increase in core prices in July.

“As the economy recovers, it will do so without a significant threat of either steep inflation or deflation. Both bear careful watching, but both are nonfactors at the moment,” said Ron Schreibman, senior vice president at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors.