WASHINGTON — The number of laid-off workers continuing to draw unemployment benefits bolted to 4.5 million in late December, and even more Americans are expected to join the ranks of the jobless in 2009.
While first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped last week, economists mostly attributed that to the Christmas holiday and cautioned that a more accurate picture of new layoff filings won’t become clear until the holiday season has passed — around mid- January.
All in all, though, the picture that emerged Wednesday was largely grim and is not expected to improve any time soon.
“It wasn’t a very merry Christmas for most of the labor force, and it doesn’t look like it will be a very happy new year either,” said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.
The Labor Department’s report showed that people continuing to draw unemployment benefits jumped by 140,000 to 4.5 million for the week ended Dec. 20, the most recent period for which that information is available. The larger-than-expected increase underscored the difficulties the unemployed are having in finding new jobs.
That left continued claims at their highest since early December 1982, when the country was emerging from a deep recession, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.
A year ago, the number of people continuing to draw jobless benefits was 2.7 million.
The report also showed that the number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time applications for jobless benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 94,000 to 492,000 for the week ended Saturday.
