By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) – The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 22,000 last week to 264,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure came in slightly higher than market estimates of 245,000, while the previous week's figure was unrevised at 242,000.
The four-week moving average was 245,250, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 239,250.
The US economy added 253,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, from 3.5% in the month before.