US initial jobless claims decline by 14,000

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 14,000 to 385,000 last week, according to Labor Department figures on Thursday.

Analysts had expected 384,000 claims for the week ending July 31. The previous week's figure was revised down by 1,000 from 400,000 to 399,000.

Despite the decline, the unemployment rate rose to 5.9% in June from 5.8% the previous month, according to the latest figures.

Although the world's largest economy added 850,000 jobs in June, it still has 9.5 million unemployed workers. More than 22 million people in the US lost jobs in March and April of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Labor Department will announce the unemployment rate and nonfarm payrolls for July on Friday.