Jobless claims in US reach 26-year high
New claims for unemployment benefits reached their highest level in 26 years last week, as companies cut workers at a rapid pace. The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits in the week ending December 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists expected.
