The number of U.S. workers drawing state unemployment benefits hit another record high early this month and factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region shrank again as the economy battles a severe downturn.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that 5.47 million people stayed on the benefit rolls in the week ended March 7, up from 5.29 million the previous week and the highest on record.

Jobless rolls are swelling to record levels after Congress last year extended benefits beyond the regular 26 weeks.

With the economy mired in recession since December 2007, the nation’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed and the claims figures underscore the difficulty of finding a new job.

The insured unemployment rate, the percentage of insured workers receiving jobless benefits, jumped to 4.1 percent in the March 7 week, the highest since June 1983, from 3.9 percent the week before.

“There is no sign of even a temporary easing in the downward pressure on employment,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at HFE in Valhalla, New York, who said the economy would likely lose more than 700,000 jobs this month.

The data had little impact on financial markets, which were still focusing on the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to buy up to $300 billion of longer-dated government debt.

Source: Reuters

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