Jobless claims highest in 26 years

CNN Money
Thursday, February 5, 2009

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits surged last week to a level not seen since October 1982, according to a government report released Thursday.

The number of initial jobless claims jumped to a much-higher-than-expected 626,000 in the week ended Jan, 31, according to the Labor Department. That’s up from a revised 591,000 in the previous week and the highest level since the last week of October 1982, when jobless claims reached 637,000.

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Economists polled by Briefing.com were expecting the number to come in at 580,000 for the most recent week.

The four-week moving average for weekly claims totaled 582,250, up from the previous week’s revised figure of 543,250.

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