The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 626,000. The prior week's upwardly revised figure was 591,000. Analysts' expectations had been for a total of 583,000.
The number of jobless claims are also the highest since October 1982.
The positive note (if anything can be claimed as positive) is that with a surge of productivity, inflation risks are now nil. Productivity is the amount of output per hour of work. It climbed, reflecting the huge number of layoffs in Q4 2008.
Productivity rose at an annualized rate of 3.2% in the final quarter. Analysts had expected 1.1%.
Because of the unemployment insurance extension congress approved last year, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is at 6.5 million people. The extension provides up to 33 additional weeks of benefits, in addition to the 26 weeks usually provided by states.
Fun stuff: a new layoff announced on Thursday (there will probably be more before Thursday is over): cosmetics maker Estee Lauder said its fiscal Q2 profit fell 30% and it plans to begin a four-year restructuring plan that will include cutting 2,000, or 6% of staff, while continuing its hiring freeze.
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