US initial jobless claims down 11,000 last week, below estimates

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 11,000 last week to 207,000, according to the US Labor Department data released Thursday.

Markets expected the figure to fall to 213,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised 218,000.

The four-week moving average was 209,750—an increase of 500 from the previous week's downwardly revised 209,250.

The US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, much higher than expectations of a 65,000 gain.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% in March from 4.4% in February.