ISTANBUL

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 5,000 last week to 227,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

The figure came in slightly lower than market estimates of 231,000, while the previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000.

The four-week moving average was 230,000 -- a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average

The US economy added 114,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.3% from 4.1% in June.