Jobless Claims Are Still Rising, Matching 26-Year Highs

The economic news surrounding employment in the U.S. is getting more devastating as the government reported the number of first-time jobless benefit claims jumped more than expected last week.

The Labor Department says claims for jobless benefits rose higher than Wall Street economists' expectations of 540,000 new claims to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 in the week ending January 17, from an upwardly revised figure of 527,000 the previous week.

Last week’s total matched a previous high total reached four weeks ago. Both mirror a high of jobless claims last seen in November of 1982.

The U.S. unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent in December, with most economists expecting the rate to increase for January.