New jobless claims in US jump to 667,000

WASHINGTON: New jobless claims rose more than expected last week and the number of laid-off Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits topped 5.1 million, fresh evidence the recession is increasingly forcing employers to shed jobs.

The US labour department said on Thursday that first-time requests for unemployment benefits jumped to 667,000 from the previous week���s figure of 631,000. Analysts had expected a slight drop in claims.

The 667,000 new claims are the most since October 1982, though the labour force has grown by about half since then.
The number of people receiving unemployment insurance for more than one week also increased more than expected to 5.1 million. That���s the fifth straight week the figure has set a new record-high on data going back to 1967, and compared with only about 2.8 million people a year ago.

As a proportion of the work force, the number of people continuing to receive benefits has reached its highest point since July 1983. An additional 1.4 million people were receiving benefits under an extended unemployment compensation programe approved by Congress last year, as of February 7. That brings the total number of jobless benefit recipients to roughly 6.5 million.

The increase in continuing claims is an indication that many newly laid-off workers are having difficulty finding jobs. Economists consider jobless claims a timely, if volatile, indicator of the health of the labour markets and broader economy. A year ago, initial claims stood at about 359,000.

The labour market has deteriorated rapidly in recent months. Employers cut a net total of nearly 600,000 jobs in January, the highest monthly tally since 1974, sending the unemployment rate to 7.6%.