(RTTNews) - The number of people filing for first-time unemployment help remained steady last week, meaning that layoffs continue to hover at extremely high levels.

The data also showed that the total number of people on the government’s jobless rolls has climbed to its highest level in at least several decades, suggesting that workers who have lost their jobs are remaining unemployed for a longer period of time.

The statistics have economists predicting another bad month for the labor market in February and a continued rise in the unemployment rate.

The U.S. Labor Department revealed that initial jobless claims came in at 627,000 for the week ended February 14. This was unchanged from the previous week’s revised total.

The 4-week moving average, a statistic that flattens out week-to-week fluctuations in the data, climbed by 10,500 to a level of 619,000.

The number of people receiving ongoing unemployment help, a figure known as continuing claims, edged up in the most recent data, coming close to the 5-million mark.

Continuing claims were up 170,000 to 4.98 million for the week ended February 7, the most recent week for which the government has data. This was the highest level for the measure since the government began keeping the statistic in the late 1960s.

“Businesses are simply not hiring anyone right now and as weekly claims continue at these levels, the ranks of those continuing their claims will continue to swell,” Peter Boockvar, Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said in a note to clients.

“The unemployment rate is clearly going through 8% in short order and 9% seems likely although not predestined,” Boockvar continued. “The longer term question is whether 10% unemployment will be reached.”

Fighting the rising unemployment is one of the priorities of the latest economic rescue efforts the government has started to put into effect. Earlier this week, President Barack Obama signed a controversial $787-billion stimulus package aimed at propping up the economy and stemming the job losses.

Employment is only one front in the battle to end the current recession, however, with the Obama Administration also announcing a new anti-foreclosure program this week.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases, USA.

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