The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims went down by 8,000 to 198,000 last week, compared to a week prior, the US Labor Department said Thursday.

At the beginning of this month, the figure reached the lowest level of 188,000 in 52 years and below market expectations of 208,000, showing signs of recovery.

The unemployment rate in the world's largest economy fell to 4.2% in November, down from 4.6% in October, according to the Labor Department.

The US economy, however, added 210,000 jobs in November, much lower than estimates./aa