By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims was down by 7,000 last week to 221,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure came below market forecasts of 233,000 and was down from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 228,000.
The four-week moving average was 229,500 – a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 235,750.
In June, the US economy added 147,000 jobs, higher than forecasts of 111,000.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in June from 4.2% in May, below market estimates.