Jobless Claims Continue To Rise

Initial jobless claims for the week ending January 24 were 588,000, up slightly from a revised 585,000 recorded last week. The four-week running average stands at 542,500. Continuing claims reached continued to rise, reaching 4,776,000. The four-week running average is 4,630,000. All of these figures represent the highest levels since 1982 during the severe recession of the Reagan administration. The complete Department of Labor press release can be found here.