First-time unemployment claims last week fell by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 414,000, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The four-week revised average for the week ending June 11 was 424,750, unchanged from the previous week's revised average, the department said.
In May, the national unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 percent, as the economy added 54,000 jobs in the month, a sharp slowdown from the first four months of the year.
The monthly report said 13.9 million persons were counted in the month as unemployed.