Jobless Claims Hit 26-Year High

338,000 more people claimed benefits last week
By Ambreen Ali,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 11, 2008 8:41 AM CST
Jobless Claims Hit 26-Year High
A man who lost his job this week speaks with a job seeker who has been out of work for three months at a Wall Street Pink Slip Party in New York.   (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

Some 58,000 jobless Americans filed their first request for unemployment benefits last week, pushing both the number of first-time filers (573,000) and number of
people collecting benefits (4.43 million) to 26-year highs, MarketWatch reports. The post-Thanksgiving week is traditionally high in first-time claims, but rapid layoffs and a deteriorating job market resulted in 60% more filings than last year—twice what analysts had predicted, the Wall Street Journal adds.
(More unemployment stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X