The number of laid-off workers continuing to draw unemployment benefits bolted to 4.5 million in late December, and even more Americans are expected to join the ranks of the jobless in 2009.

While first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped last week, economists mostly attributed that to the Christmas holiday and cautioned that a more accurate picture of new layoff filings won’t become clear until the holiday season is passed — around mid-January.

All in all, though, the picture that emerged Wednesday was largely grim and is not expected to improve any time soon.

“It wasn’t a very merry Christmas for most of the labor force and it doesn’t look like it will be a very happy New Year, either,” said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research.

The Labor Department’s report showed that people continuing to draw unemployment benefits jumped by 140,000 to 4.5 million for the week ending Dec. 20, the most recent period for which that information is available. The larger-than-expected increase underscored the difficulties the unemployed are having in finding new jobs.

That left continued claims at their highest since early December 1982, when the country was emerging from a deep recession, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.

A year ago, the number of people continuing to draw jobless benefits was 2.7 million.

The report also showed that the number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped by a seasonally adjusted 94,000 to 492,000 for the week ending Dec. 27.

That decline, however, didn’t signal any improvement in labor conditions. The drop — while bigger than economists expected — was mostly related to seasonal adjustment difficulties and reflected some out-of-work people not making it to unemployment offices to file claims over the Christmas holiday, analysts said.

Even with the drop, new filings remained elevated. A year ago, claims stood at 339,000.

Similarly, the four-week moving average of first-time jobless claims, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, fell last week to 552,250, a decrease of 5,750 from the prior week. A year ago, this figure was 344,500.

Economists expected so-called “continued” claims to rise to around 4.38 million, and that first-time applications for unemployment benefits would drop to around 550,000.

On Wall Street, investors took some comfort in the drop in first-time unemployment claims. The Dow Jones industrials added nearly 110 points on the last trading day of a tumultuous 2008.

Next week’s jobless claims report also is likely to be distorted by another shortened holiday week because of New Year’s Day, analysts said.

“The bottom line here is that it probably won’t be until mid-January that we begin to get a clear picture of what claims are saying,” said Abiel Reinhart, economist at JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Economists predict the jobs situation will get worse before it gets better.

Brian Bethune, economist at IHS Global Insight, predicts first-time filings for jobless benefits will climb back up to 550,000 or higher in the middle of January and stay in that elevated range for some time.

Meanwhile, the nation’s unemployment rate — which zoomed to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent in November — is expected to rise to 7 percent in December when the government releases that report next week. If that proves correct, it would be the highest level since June 1993. Economists also are predicting employers eliminated another 478,000 jobs in December alone. In November, 533,000 jobs vanished.

Many economists believe the unemployment rate will keep climbing — hitting 8 percent or close to 10 percent at the end of 2009.

Employers have slashed payrolls as they scramble to cut costs. The deepening recession, disappearing jobs, shriveling nest eggs and tanking home values have forced consumers to cut back, which is hurting businesses.

Atlanta-based Interface Inc. on Tuesday said it will lay off about 530 employees to cope with weakening demand for its carpet products.

Other companies that announced mass layoffs recently include: technology services provider Unisys Corp., pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., International Paper Co. and Bank of America Corp.

Since the recession began in December of 2007, the economy has lost nearly 2 million jobs.

Spurring job creation is a key priority for President-elect Barack Obama, who takes over on Jan. 20. He is contemplating a massive package of government spending and tax cuts to stimulate the economy.

West | View Regional Video

A powerful storm will whack into the Pacific Northwest tomorrow and tomorrow night–Happy New Year!–bearing high winds, heavy rain and abundant mountain snow.

The strongest winds will rip through Oregon and southern Idaho and may leave at least minor damage in their wake.

The heaviest rain, several inches, will inundate southwest Washington and northwest Oregon; rivers will be on the rise as will concerns over flooding.

Heavy snow will add to the already prodigious totals in the Olympics and Cascades, but snow levels will be fluctuating wildly. They’ll start out the day in the 2000- to 3000-foot range and end up ranging from 3000 feet in the northern Washington Cascades to 6000 feet in the northern Oregon Cascades. Snow levels will tumble tomorrow night, however, as a strong cold front sweeps in off the Pacific.

More snow is on tap for “polarized” Spokane, too, although it may mix with or change to rain tomorrow night before colder air returns on Friday.

Meanwhile, heavy snow will also fall in the mountains of northeast Washington, Idaho, western Montana and western Wyoming.

In contrast to this stormy blitz, sunshine will prevail from Southern California to New Mexico tomorrow.

High temperatures are forecast to range from the teens in northeast Montana to the low and mid-70s in parts of Southern California, southern Arizona and far southeast New Mexico.

Midwest | View Regional Video

Light snow and snow showers will dust the Upper Midwest and eastern North Dakota tomorrow, but accumulations will be minimal: perhaps an inch or two in northern Minnesota, far northern Wisconsin and northwest lower Michigan.

High temperatures will be near to somewhat above average for the first day of January with readings ranging from around 10 in parts of northern North Dakota to the 50s in southwest Kansas.

Northeast | View Regional Video

Windy, cold conditions will greet the New Year in the northeastern U.S. tomorrow, especially across eastern New York state and New England.

The day should be dry, however, except for a few snow flurries or isolated light snow showers in far northern New England and perhaps on Cape Cod.

High temperatures will range the wind-chilled single digits in the higher elevations of far northern New England and the Adirondacks to the mid-40s in parts of southern Virginia.

South | View Regional Video

Except for a chance of a stray shower across the southern half of the Florida Peninsula and in the Texas coastal plain tomorrow, the southern U.S. will be dry to start 2009.

Abundant sunshine will grace the day from Oklahoma and northern Texas eastward through the Deep South.

High temperatures are expected to range from the upper 30s in the higher Appalachians to the upper 70s around Brownsville, Tex.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of National City Corp., a Cleveland-based bank that dates back to 1845.Pittsburgh-based PNC is the first U.S. bank to use money obtained under the government’s $700 billion bailout program to make an acquisition. PNC and National City announced plans for their $5.6 billion deal on Oct. 24.

The Justice Department has told PNC it will have to sell 61 National City branches in western Pennsylvania to satisfy antitrust concerns.

National City had been Ohio’s largest bank, but it experienced a sharp drop in its stock value and experienced billions of dollars in losses due to its heavy exposure to risky mortgages it had offered to customers.

Due to popular demand, America’s premier comedian is hitting the road in a return to his first love - stand-up comedy. Recently hailed as “the master stand-up comic of his generation” and “the best comedian of our time” in a Washington Post article by Tom Shales, Seinfeld has an uncanny ability to joke about the little things in life that relate to audiences everywhere. Seinfeld now sets his sights on performing his material across the country in 2009.

His appearence will be one of the first shows of the season, information on that show is below.

Presented by: Trust Guest Attraction
Venue: Benedum Center - [ View Seating Chart ]
Saturday, January 3, 2009; 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM
Tickets: $79, $64, $49

A Pittsburgh-area stainless steel manufacturer has laid off more than 200 people since October.President of the USW Local 1212 at Midland Steve Clutter says only about 10 of the 230 people who had worked at the plant still have jobs.

Allegheny Ludlum says the layoffs at its Midland facility could last six months or longer. The company told the state the “unprecedented economic conditions have caused a sudden and unexpected reduction in our business.” The company says four supervisors and 205 hourly workers have been let go.

In August, the company was operating at full capacity and seeking new workers. But fourth quarter order dropped 50% below projections and remained that low.

Mount Airy Casino Resort in northeastern Pennsylvania says a difficult economy is forcing it to change the terms of its credit agreement with banks.A filing submitted to state regulators last week by Mount Airy asks to keep the nature of the financial agreement confidential. But it says the changes will help the casino meet its operational and financial demands.

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board granted a request by the appointed trustee who oversees Mount Airy to allow owner Louis DeNaples to pay some of the property’s bills.

The gaming board barred DeNaples from his casino after he was charged Jan. 30 with lying to the state about his alleged ties to organized crime figures to get a casino license.

DeNaples has pleaded innocent.

A 59-year-old man whose frozen body was found in the woods near Erie most likely died of natural causes.Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook says no signs of trauma or foul play were found on 59-year-old James Burchett’s body during an autopsy on Tuesday. Cook says he believes Burchett died of natural causes though he is awaiting results of toxicology tests.

Burchett’s body was found in the woods near Erie on Dec. 20. An autopsy was delayed until the body thawed.

Investigators believe Burchett had been living in a dry culvert behind a Sam’s Club. Several days after Burchett’s body was found, investigators tracked down his 81-year-old father in Tennessee. He had not seen his son in more than 20 years.

Information from: Erie Times-News, http://www.goerie.com

The $152,000 debt of a historic western Pennsylvania amusement park has been bought by a firm that could move to foreclose on the property to get its money.The 116-year-old Conneaut Lake Park has been closed the past two summers because of its heavy debt load.

First Capital Finance Inc. was the lone bidder on Tuesday. It will pay Summit Township $200,000 for the park’s $152,000 debt. The park’s total debt stands at about $2.4 million.

Park officials say they were surprised the township took such a step to recoup the debt.

Township and park officials say they expect First Capital will foreclose on the park property to get its money.

U.S. steel prices reached all-time highs, and the stocks of companies in the sector climbed, before the industry tumbled with the global economy and ended 2008 with production cuts, layoffs and fears demand will continue to slide.During the first seven months of the year, prices for the metal peaked, as booming demand from China - the world’s largest consumer and producer of steel - helped drive up the costs of steel-making materials such as iron ore.

For the three months through September, United States Steel Corp. had its most profitable quarter ever. Another large steel maker, Nucor Corp., also posted record results, with profit nearly doubling. In late June, U.S. Steel traded near $192 per share and in May Nucor hit a 52-week high of $83.56.

But orders for steel products began to subside in August, as China’s expansion slowed and the steel-intensive construction industries in North America and Europe weakened. U.S. automobile makers - important steel consumers - reported significantly lower sales and continued moving toward smaller cars built with less metal. A strengthening dollar, meanwhile, dampened exports, and a credit crisis, touched off by troubles in the housing market, intensified, leading steel customers in the key markets of construction, automobiles and industrial equipment to tighten purse strings.

“Business froze, credit froze and people stopped buying everything, including steel,” said Michelle Applebaum, an industry analyst. “You’ve seen prices for some products down as much as 40%.”

Shares of U.S. Steel, the largest U.S.-based steel company, plunged 69%, performing far worse than the broader market. During the same period, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 39% and the Dow Jones Total Market index lost 40%.

Among the best performing stocks in the sector was Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor, which operates electric furnaces that can be started and shut down more quickly than traditional blast furnaces, depending on demand. Nucor also benefited from lower prices for scrap metal, which the company uses to make steel.

“Companies like Nucor fared better because they do not own any raw materials, so they didn’t have to worry about the decline in raw material prices,” said Michael Willemse, an analyst with CIBC World Markets. Nucor shares declined about 22% for the year. Like some other companies, its shares rose in December after President-elect Barack Obama proposed an infrastructure spending plan that would require steel.

Shares of AK Steel Holding Corp., however, fared far worse. Stock in the West Chester, Ohio-based company, a supplier to the auto industry and a rumored takeover target, have plunged 80%.

As the industry contracted in the second half of 2008, steel companies slashed production and furloughed workers in hopes of lowering supply to meet the diminishing demand.

Domestic raw steel production sank 44% for the week ending Dec. 13 compared with the same week in 2007, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute, an industry group. Steel mills operated at slightly less than half their capacity compared with 88% a year earlier.

That was the 17th consecutive week of declining production at U.S. steel mills as rates dropped to levels not seen in 25 years, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Animals that were scheduled to be put down by year’s end are being given another chance, thanks to a New Year’s Eve tradition in Pittsburgh.

For the 12th straight year, Animal Friends will rescue the pets, vaccinate and groom them, so they are ready to be adopted by a family in the New Year.

Volunteers help round up the animals, some of which arrive at the facility dirty and neglected. But the volunteers said there is no better way to ring in the New Year.

“That’s why the volunteers are here. We love animals and love to see them get a good home,” one volunteer said.