Last week's new unemployment applicants highest in 26 years

It keeps getting worse:

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged to a 26-year high last week, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a deepening recession forced employers to cut back on hirings.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits jumped by 58,000, the biggest increase since September 2005, to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 in the week ended December 6 from an upwardly revised 515,000 the previous week. That was the highest print since November 1982, when 612,000 workers submitted new claims for unemployment benefits.

Bush and his GOP allies sure did a number on American workers. What a legacy. Can we finally put to rest the idea that the GOP knows anything about the economy? (And, can Democrats agree to never cave in to the GOP on economic issues?)