Jobless Claims Soar, Again 

Consider it a one-two punch to the economy: initial jobless claims jumped 58,000 last week to a 26-year high of 573,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday, following the prior week’s report that November’s bloodletting was the worst monthly decline since 1974. Jobless claims show that businesses are rapidly shedding workers. And for those who have lost their job, finding a replacement in the current economy is increasingly likely to be anything but a walk in the park.