Washington ? Fewer workers sought unemployment benefits last week, but the level of new claims remained high, another sign that cautious companies are keeping their work forces lean amid a muddled postwar economic climate.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for jobless benefits dropped by a seasonally adjusted 28,000 to 425,000 for the work week that ended Saturday. Even with that decline, claims have been running above the 400,000 mark — a level associated with a stagnant job market — for 12 straight weeks.

The more stable, four-week moving average of new claims, which smooths out week to week fluctuations, rose by 3,250 last week to 446,000. That represented the highest level in more than a year.

The nation’s jobless rate jumped to 6 percent in April as businesses cut jobs for the third straight month. The economy has lost a half million jobs in the last three months, a decline usually associated with recessions.