Staggering 554,000 Americans Filed New Unemployment Claims During Week Ending Dec. 13

December 18, 2008 10:50 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The holidays won't be very merry for the 554,000 Americans who filed their first claim for unemployment compensation during the week ending Dec. 13 amid the nation's deepening recession.

Although that number is down from the 575,000 people who filed new claims the week before, it represents a huge jump from the 349,000 people who filed new claims during the week ending Dec. 13, 2007, at the beginning of the recession.

However, the 4-week moving average of new unemployment claims was 543,750, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 541,000, the U.S. Department of Labor said in a statement Thursday.