US initial jobless claims fall by 4,000

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) — The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 4,000 last week to 228,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

The figure was lower than market estimates of 235,000, while the previous week's reading was revised up by 2,000 from 230,000 to 232,000.

After an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average, the four-week moving average was 237,500.

The US economy added 187,000 jobs in July, while unemployment fell to 3.5% from 3.6% in June.

August jobs data will be released on Friday at 8.30 a.m. EDT (1230GMT), while the market expectation for the figure is to come in at 170,000.