US initial jobless claims down 5,000 last week, above estimates

ISTANBUL

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims decreased by 5,000 last week to 227,000, according to the US Labor Department data released on Thursday.

Markets expected the figure to fall to 222,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised 232,000.

The four-week moving average was 219,500 – an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised 212,500.

The US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, well above forecasts, and up from 48,000 in the previous month.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% last month, from 4.4% in December.