Initial jobless claims in US rise by 20,000

ISTANBUL

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 20,000 last week to 243,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

The figure came in higher than estimates of 229,000. The previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 from 222,000 to 223,000.

The four-week moving average was 234,750, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average.

The US economy added 206,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.1% from 4% in May.