By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 11,000 last week to 235,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure came above market forecasts of 226,000 and was up from the previous week's unrevised level of 224,000.
The four-week moving average was 226,250 – a rise of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 221,750.
In July, the US economy added 73,000 jobs, well below market forecasts of 106,000.
The job additions for June and May, meanwhile, were revised downwards by a combined figure of 258,000.
Unemployment rose to 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June, matching market forecasts.