The number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose 3,000 last week, data this afternoon showed, while so-called continued claims hit the highest level on record as the country's year-long recession continued to chill employment.
The number of US jobless claiming benefits jumped to a record in mid-January, while new orders for durable goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, according to data today that showed the economy in steep decline.
Sales of newly built US single-family homes slumped to their lowest levels since records started in 1963.
The latest batch of grim data fanned worries that the year-long recession, triggered by the collapse of the US housing market, could be the worst economic slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
"We don't see much relief (for the economy) until much later this year. We are passing through the darkest part of the storm right now," said Tim Quinlan, economic analyst at Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The number of people remaining on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid, or continued claims, rose 159,000 to a higher-than-forecast 4.776 million in the week ended January 17th, the most recent week for which data is available.
The Labor Department said this was the highest reading since its records on this series began in 1967. Analysts had expected continued claims to be 4.65 million.
Reuters