Washington: The number of Americans applying for initial unemployment benefits declined by 5,000 to reach 227,000 last week, as reported by Labor Department data on Thursday. This decrease in initial jobless claims came in below market expectations, which had projected a figure of 236,000. The previous week's numbers were also revised downward to 232,000.

According to Anadolu Agency, the four-week moving average, which provides a more stable view of the labor market trends, was recorded at 235,500. This represents a reduction of 5,750 from the prior week's revised average of 241,250.

In June, the labor market showed positive momentum with the addition of 147,000 jobs, surpassing the anticipated 111,000 jobs. Moreover, the unemployment rate experienced a slight decline, falling to 4.1% in June from the previous month's rate of 4.2%, which was also lower than market predictions.