By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims rose 5,000 last week to 219,000, according to Labor Department data released on Thursday.
The figure was above the market forecast of 215,000 and the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 214,000.
The 4-week moving average was 215,250, a 1,000 decrease from the previous week's revised average of 216,250.
The US economy added 143,000 jobs in January, falling short of the forecast of 169,000.