The number of people collecting U.S. jobless benefits rose to a record 5.56 million, indicating more Americans are spending longer periods out of work. Initial claims topped 600,000 for an eighth straight time. Total benefit rolls jumped by 122,000 in the week ended March 14, from 5.44 million the previous week, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Initial jobless applications last week rose 8,000 to 652,000, in line with forecasts. Job cuts are spreading from companies to government agencies including the U.S. Postal Service and health-care providers, a sign consumer spending will remain weak in coming months. Rising unemployment means it may be harder for the Obama administration to save or create the 3.5 million jobs targeted in its recovery plan. ``The deterioration in the labor market has been swift and large,'' Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. ``A double- digit unemployment rate now seems unavoidable.'' Economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected claims would rise to 650,000 from the 646,000 previously reported for the prior week. Projections ranged from 625,000 to 660,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure, fell to 649,000 from 650,000. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits, which tends to track the jobless rate, rose to 4.2 percent in the week ended March 14, the highest level since 1983. Thirty-eight states and territories reported an increase in new claims for that same period while applications decreased in 15 states. Initial claims reflect weekly firings and tend to rise as job growth slows. Unemployment Rate The unemployment rate, 8.1 percent in February, may rise as high as 9.4 percent by the end of the year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. In the four months through February, job losses approached 2.6 million with the economy in its longest recession in more than a quarter century. National Semiconductor Corp. plans to cut more than 1,700 jobs, about a fourth of its workforce, as the recession eats into sales at the mobile-phone maker, the Santa Clara, California-based company said in a statement March 11. ``The worldwide recession has impacted National's business as demand has fallen considerably,'' Chief Executive Officer Brian Halla. Service, Government Jobs Increasing numbers of service and government jobs are being cut, along with manufacturing positions. The U.S. Postal Service said March 20 it will close six of 80 district offices, cut 15 percent of its district-level positions and offer early retirement to about 150,000 workers. New York City's Health and Hospitals Corp., the largest municipal medical-care system in the U.S., will cut 400 jobs and close community clinics, mental-health services and tuberculosis treatment programs due to reductions in state aid and higher drug and medical supply costs, agency President Alan Aviles said last week

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