US initial jobless claims fall by 3,000

ISTANBUL

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 3,000 last week to 192,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.

The figure was lower than estimates of 200,000, while the previous week's figure was revised up by 1,000 from 194,000 to 195,000.

The four-week moving average was 191,250, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average.

The US economy added 517,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4% from 3.5% the previous month, according to the agency.