WASHINGTON (AP) — A new estimate puts the deficit for the just-completed 2012 budget year at $1.1 trillion, the fourth straight year of trillion dollar deficits on President Barack Obama's watch.

The result was a slight, $207 billion improvement from the 2011 deficit of $1.3 trillion.

The bleak figures from the Congressional Budget Office, while expected, add fodder for the heated presidential campaign, in which Obama's handling of the economy and the budget is a main topic. Friday's release came as the government announced that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent last month, matching the rate when Obama took office.