By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) — The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell by 20,000 last week to 201,000, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
The figure was lower than market estimates of 225,000, while the previous week's reading was revised up by 1,000 from 220,000 to 221,000.
The four-week moving average was 217,000, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average.
The US economy added 187,000 jobs in August, but the unemployment rate jumped to 3.8% from 3.5% in July.