By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 12,000 last week to 248,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure came in slightly higher than market estimates of 245,000, while the previous week's level was revised down by 3,000 from 239,000 to 236,000.
The four-week moving average was 253,250, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 339,000 jobs in May, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.7%, from 3.4% in April.