By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 1,000 last week to 209,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure came in lower than market estimates of 218,000.
The previous week's reading was revised down by 7,000 from 217,000 to 210,000.
The four-week moving average was 208,000, a decrease of 500 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 275,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% from 3.7% in January.