Ongoing Jobless Claims Hit Record, But Initial Claims Dip

[Purveyor]

Source: MARKETWATCH

Results seen as 'incredibly worrisome'

By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
Last update: 9:48 a.m. EST Feb. 12, 2009

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- First-time claims for state unemployment benefits eased slightly in the latest weekly data, but continuing claims reached a record high, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The number of initial claims in the week ending Feb. 7 fell 8,000 to 623,000, a level that was still 84% higher than the same period in the prior year and near a 26-year high.

The four-week average of initial claims rose 24,000 to 607,500 -- the highest level since November 1982 and up 76% from the prior year. The four-week average for claims draws the attention of economists and investors because it smoothes out distortions caused by bad weather, labor strikes or the timing of holidays.

For the week ending Jan. 31, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits rose 11,000 to a record 4.81 million. The four-week moving average of these continuing claims also reached a record, rising 73,750 to 4.75 million.

The continuing claims result is "incredibly worrisome," wrote Dan Greenhaus of the equity strategy group at Miller Tabak.

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