Telecommunications giant AT&T and other major US companies unleashed a new wave of layoffs Thursday amid a deepening recession that saw government unemployment aid swell to a 26-year high. AT&T said it was cutting 12,000 jobs, or some four percent of its workforce, beginning this month and through the end of 2009, and slashing 2009 capital spending due to the economic downturn. The job cuts stemmed from "economic pressures, a changing business mix and a more streamlined organizational structure," the Dallas, Texas-based firm said in a statement. Chemical giant DuPont said it was eliminating about 2,500 jobs that mainly support its businesses that support the automotive and construction markets in the US and western Europe, citing "a sharp downturn in demand during the fourth quarter." "A steep global decline in construction and motor vehicle sales and consumer spending has resulted in declining industrial production, intensified by inventory reductions across most supply chains," the Wilmington, Delaware-based company said. Job cuts were also announced by media-entertainment group Viacom, which said a restructuring would reduce its workforce by some seven percent, or 850 jobs. The drumbeat of layoff announcements accompanied a Labor Department weekly report that put unemployment insurance claims at a 26-year high, an ominous foreshadowing of its November nonfarm payrolls and unemployment report on Friday. The markets are bracing for the crucial monthly report, a bellwether indicator of the health of the world's largest economy. Most analysts expect the report to show the economy shed 325,000 jobs last month as the downturn accelerated. In a weekly update, the Labor Department said the number of people receiving unemployment aid, which crossed the four-million mark two weeks ago, rose by 89,000 to 4.087 million, the highest level since December 1982. The department said a seasonally adjusted 509,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending November 29, a drop of 21,000 from the prior week's upwardly revised 530,000 claims. The department said the decline had been impacted by a slowdown in claims filings because of the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, November 27, and Friday. The drop confounded most analysts' forecast of an increase of 540,000. In the past year new jobless claims have climbed nearly each week. However, the four-week moving average of initial claims, considered a more reliable indicator of the labor market, rose to 524,500 from 518,250 the prior week. The latest average was the highest since December 1982. "The high level of initial claims and the rising trend in continuing claims indicates that the labor market continues to deteriorate," said Gary Bigg, analyst at Bank of America. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book report that most economic sectors faced pressure and a key report showed the critical services sector shrank to its lowest level in 11 years. "With the recent Beige Book reporting that labor markets were slowing and the November Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing index tumbling, we are now projecting that November payrolls decline by 375,000 and that the unemployment rate rises from 6.5 percent to 6.9," Bigg said. The report is to be used by Fed policymakers for their December 15-16 meeting on interest rates. Some analysts expect the Fed to cut a half point from its key rate currently pegged at a historic low of 1.0 percent. The central bank has warned the jobless rate could climb to 7.6 percent in 2009. President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on January 20, has vowed to create 2.5 million new jobs to shore up the flagging economy.