By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) – The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 6,000 last week to 186,000, according to the Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure was lower than the market estimate of 205,000, while the previous week's figure was revised up by 2,000 from 190,000 to 192,000.
The four-week moving average was 197,500, a decrease of 9,250 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 223,000 jobs in December 2022, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% from 3.7% the month before, said the department.