Thursday Is New Jobless Day

Ouch.

Jobless rolls jumped to a record peak in mid-January, while new orders for durable goods fell for a fifth straight month in December, data showed on Thursday, underscoring the deepening economic malaise.

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The number of people remaining on the benefits roll after drawing an initial week of aid, or continued claims, rose 159,000 to a higher-than-forecast 4.776 million in the week ended Jan. 17, the most recent week for which data is available.

The Labor Department said this was the highest reading since its records on this series began in 1967. Analysts had expected continued claims to be 4.65 million.