By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 10,000 last week to 222,000 from their highest since August, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was slightly higher than estimates of 219,000.
The previous week's reading was revised from 231,000 to 232,000.
The four-week moving average was 217,750, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 175,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% from 3.8% in March.