US initial jobless claims up 8,000 last week, more than estimates

ISTANBUL

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 8,000 to 247,000 last week, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.

The figure came above the market forecasts of 236,000, and was up from the previous week's downwardly revised level of 239,000.

The four-week moving average was 235,000 -- an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's downwardly revised level of 230,500.

In April, the US economy added 177,000 jobs, much higher than forecasts of 138,000.

The unemployment rate was expected at 4.2% in April, unchanged from March. The employment data for May will be released on Friday.