Washington: The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 11,000 last week to 219,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.

According to Anadolu Agency, the figure exceeded forecasts of 214,000 and was up from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 208,000. The four-week moving average was 216,750, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 212,750.

The US economy added 256,000 jobs in December. Data for January will be released Friday.