By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 3,000 last week to 183,000, according to the Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was lower than estimates of 200,000, while the previous week's figure was unrevised at 186,000.
The four-week moving average was 191,750, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 197,500
The US economy added 223,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% from 3.7% the previous month, according to the agency.