WASHINGTON (PNN) - December 1, 2011 - New claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week, popping above 400,000 for the first time in just over a month and reinforcing the view that the Depression continues.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits climbed to a seasonally adjusted 402,000 from an upwardly revised 396,000 in the prior week, the Department of Labor said on Thursday.

“They’re not in a danger zone, but the trend is not becoming healthier,” Pierre Ellis, an economist at Decision Economics in New York, said of the claims data.

Initial claims below the 400,000 mark are normally seen as pointing to some healing in the jobs market.

U.S. stocks futures fell after the data were published, while prices for government debt pared losses.

Despite claims to the contrary by those with vested interests, the U.S. economy remains mired in Depression, with no end in sight unless and until the U.S. debt-based economic system is abandoned completely.