The number of new applications for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, according to new figures from the Labor Department on Thursday that also showed the number of Americans continuing to claim benefits set a new record high. It was the ninth consecutive week that the number of people continuing to claim benefits has broken a previous record high. The Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 652,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 644,000. That was slightly more than analysts had predicted and a massive increase from the 367,000 claims recorded this time last year. The total number of people claiming benefits for more than a week rose 122,000 to 5.56 million – also higher than analysts' forecast of 5.48 million and the highest on records dating back to 1967. A year ago, the number of people continuing to receive benefits was 2.8 million. As a proportion of the work force, the number of people receiving benefits is at its highest level since May 1983. The figures are additionally alarming because they do not take into account another 1.47 million people who are receiving specially extended unemployment benefits under a program approved by Congress last year. The unemployment rate was recorded at 8.1 percent last month, the highest in more than 25 years, but many economists fear that figure could rise to 10 percent by early next year.
