U.S. Jobless Benefit Rolls Reach Record 4.99 Million (Bob Willis)

  Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits jumped to 4.99 million two weeks ago, breaking a record for a fourth straight time, signaling the job market is still deteriorating.

  Total benefit rolls surged by 170,000 in the week ended Feb. 7, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. First-time applications for unemployment benefits were unchanged at 627,000 last week, higher than economists projected.

  General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC this week announced an additional 50,000 workers would be cut from payrolls as crumbling demand for autos deepens a recession now in its second year. President Barack Obama is counting on the $787 billion stimulus plan he signed into law this week to create or save 3.5 million jobs and stem the slump in spending.

  “This is a really rotten labor market,” Roger Kubarych, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Global Research in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We’re going to have an unemployment rate that grazes 9 percent.”

  Treasuries were lower, driving up yields. The benchmark 10- year note yielded 2.8 percent as of 8:37 a.m. in New York, up 4 basis points from yesterday. Stock-index futures were higher.

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