US initial jobless claims fall by 16,000

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims last week fell 16,000 to 223,000, the Labor Department said Thursday.

While the market expectation was 230,000 for the week ending Feb. 5, the previous week's figure was revised up by 1,000 to 239,000.

The unemployment rate in the world's largest economy fell to 3.9% in December from 4.2% in November, according to the Labor Department.

The US economy, however, added just 199,000 jobs, lower than estimates.