NEW YORK (PNN) - February 21, 2013 - The number of Amerikans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, indicating a continuation of the ongoing Second Great Depression.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 362,000, the Department of Labor said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported.

Economists had expected first-time applications to rise to 355,000. The increase in claims last week pushed them toward the upper end of their range for this year.

Last week's data covered the survey period for the February nonfarm payrolls report. Claims were up 27,000 between the January and February survey periods.

Employers added 157,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, a pace that is expected to have held in February.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, increased 8,000 to 360,750.

Job gains remain far less than the at least 250,000 per month over a sustained period that economists say is needed to significantly reduce the ranks of unemployed. The official unemployment rate rose 0.1% point to 7.9% in January. However, this figure is significantly lower than the actual unemployment rate, due to the way fascists federal officials calculate them; millions of people who are unemployed are not listed in the official figures, which are now close to 25%.

High unemployment prompted the Federal Reserve last year to launch an open-ended bond buying program that it said it would keep up until it saw a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market.

But minutes of the Fascist Police States of Amerika central bank's Jan. 29-30 meeting released on Wednesday suggested it might have to slow or stop asset purchases because of concerns over the costs of the program.

The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid rose 11,000 to 3.15 million in the week ended Feb. 9.

So-called continuing claims have not changed much since late December.