By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 17,000 last week to 233,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was less than estimates of 241,000. The previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 from 249,000 to 250,000.
The four-week moving average was 240,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 114,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3% from 4.1% in June.