By Tuba Ongun
The number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims rose 14,000 last week to 217,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was above the market forecast of 210,000 and the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 203,000 from 201,000.
The 4-week moving average was 212,750, a 750 decrease from the previous week's revised average of 213,500.
The US economy added 256,000 jobs in December, following a downwardly revised 212,000 in November.