Initial Jobless Claims for Unemployment Insurance was 524,000 last week

From the WSJ:

By JEFF BATER and BRIAN BLACKSTONE

WASHINGTON -- The number of idled workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped last week as the recession forces companies to cut costs.

Meanwhile, U.S. producer prices fell for a fifth-straight month in December on steep declines in energy and food prices, suggesting that inflationary pressures continue to recede rapidly as the economic recession deepens.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits increased by 54,000 to 524,000, after seasonal adjustments, in the week that ended Jan. 10, the Labor Department said Thursday.

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