U.S. weekly initial jobless claims rise 9,000 to 654,000

Unemployment is getting worse. We need to see these weekly numbers start to fall before the economy can begin to turn around.-Lou

U.S. weekly initial jobless claims rise 9,000 to 654,000

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Signaling persistent labor market weakness, the number of workers filing initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 654,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The smoothed average of new claims over the past four weeks rose 6,750 to 650,000 -- the highest level since October 1982. The number of people receiving unemployment checks in the week ending Feb. 28 rose 193,000 to a record 5.32 million.