By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 13,000 last week to 242,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure came in higher than market estimates of 225,000. The previous week's reading was unrevised at 229,000.
The four-week moving average was 227,000, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 222,250.
The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.9% in April.