By Tuba Ongun
ANKARA (AA) — The number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims dropped 7,000 last week to 213,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was below the market forecast of 215,000 and the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 220,000 from 219,000.
The four-week moving average was 216,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 143,000 jobs in January, following an upwardly revised figure of 307,000 in December.