652,000 Americans applied for their first jobless benefit last week

The number of Americans filing their first jobless benefit claim rose slightly last week while the number of people continuing to claim benefits set a record for the ninth straight week, according to the U.S. Labour Department.

It said first-time claims for unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 652,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 644,000, slightly higher than analysts expected.

A year ago, the number was 367,000.

The number of continuing claims has increased by more than 100,000 four times in the past five weeks, an indication that workers are remaining on the rolls for longer as they struggle to land a new job after being laid off.

As a proportion of the work force, the number of people receiving benefits is at its highest level since May 1983, when the economy was recovering from a steep recession.

Separately, the Commerce Department reported that the gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economy, fell at an annual rate of 6.3 percent in last year's fourth quarter, slightly worse than the previous estimate of 6.2 percent.

The recession drove the U.S. unemployment rate to 8.1 per cent last month, the highest in more than 25 years. Some economists expect the rate could reach 10 per cent by early next year.

The jobs report was more or less what investors had expected and the New York markets opened up this morning, with the Dow Jones trading up 80 points to around 7800 in late morning trading.