The U.S. Labor department reported another record number of people receiving unemployment benefits today, with claims rising by about 9,000 from last week. This record high is one of six record breaking reports in the last seven weeks. The number of individuals with claims longer than one week rose as well ? bringing the total in this category to 5.3 million. The continually rising number of claims indicates not only that workers are being laid off, but that they are finding it increasingly difficult to get new work. Some expect the unemployment rate to be as high as 10% this year, as companies continue to make labor cutbacks amid the recession.
See "Initial Jobless Claims Increase Again", The New York Times, March 11, 2009