Housing Starts Down, Unemployment up

Housing Starts
Home builders cut groundbreakings a sixth time in a row during December and brought construction to a new low.
Housing starts decreased 15.5% to a seasonally adjusted 550,000 annual rate compared to the prior month, the Commerce Department said.
Unemployment
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for state unemployment benefits soared last week to match the quarter-century high reached in December, suggesting layoffs continued unabated into the new year. Initial claims for jobless benefits jumped 62,000 to 589,000 after seasonal adjustments in the week ended Jan. 17.