Washington: The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims decreased by 9,000 last week to 198,000, according to the US Labor Department data released Thursday.

According to Anadolu Agency, markets had expected the figure to rise to 215,000 from the previous week's downwardly revised 207,000. The four-week moving average was 205,000, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week's 211,500. This marked the lowest level for the four-week average since January 20, 2024, when it was 203,250.

The US economy added 50,000 jobs in December, which was below forecasts, following a 56,000 gain in November. The unemployment rate decreased to 4.4% in December, from 4.5% in November, which was below expectations.