By Ovunc Kutlu
ANKARA (AA) – The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims last week rose by 23,000 to 230,000, the US Labor Department said on Thursday.
Analysts expected 200,000 claims for the week ending Jan. 8. The previous week's figure was unrevised at 207,000.
The unemployment rate in the world's largest economy fell to 4.2% in November, down from 4.6% in October, according to the Labor Department.
The US economy, however, only added 210,000 jobs in November, much lower than estimates.