WASHINGTON – There were 573,000 first-time filings for unemployment insurance last week, a 58,000 increase from the week before, the Labor Department reported today.
Last week's new claims figures were the highest since 1982, when the nation was also in a recession.
During the first week of December in 2007 there were 337,000 first-time filings.
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The four-week average of first-time claims was 540,500, compared with 526,250 last week and 339,750 during the same period last year.
Today's data report follows bleak news from the government's latest unemployment figures.
Last Friday, the department reported that unemployment rose to 6.7% in November, the 11th consecutive month of job losses.
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