By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims rose by 21,000 last week to 211,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure was much higher than market estimates of 195,000, while the previous week's figure was unrevised at 190,000.
The four-week moving average was 197,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 193,000.
The US economy added 517,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate fell to 3.4% from 3.5% the previous month, according to the department.