The number of unemployed U.S. workers continuing to receive jobless benefits has surged again, as finding new jobs becomes even more difficult amid a deepening recession. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose by a bigger-than-expected 140,000 last week to 4.5 million, the highest level since December 1982, when the country was emerging from a deep recession. One year ago, the number of Americans continuing to receive jobless benefits was 2.7 million. The report showed that the number of people filing first-time applications for jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week. However, that decline did not signal any improvement in labor conditions. Similarly, the four-week moving average of first-time jobless claims, which smoothes out weekly fluctuations, fell last week to 552,250, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week. However, the figure was 344,500 a year ago. U.S. employers have cut jobs in an effort to reduce costs. The deepening recession, disappearing jobs, shrinking retirement savings, and plunging home values have forced consumers—whose spending accounts for two-thirds of total U.S. economic activity—to reduce purchases, thus hurting businesses.
