By Tuba Ongun
The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims dropped 4,000 last week to 217,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was below the market forecast of 224,000 and down from the previous week's unrevised level of 221,000.
The four-week moving average was 221,000 – a decrease of 6,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 227,250.
The US economy added only 12,000 jobs in October, down from a revised 223,000 jobs in September due to two destructive hurricanes that hit several states in the US and a worker strike at aircraft maker Boeing.
The unemployment rate was at 4.1% in October, constant from the three-month low in the prior month.