By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) – The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 20,000 last week to 192,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure was much lower than market estimates of 205,000, while the previous week's figure was revised up by 1,000 from 211,000 to 212,000.
The four-week moving average was 196,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 311,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, according to the data.