About 853,000 Americans filed initial claims for unemployment insurance‌ last‌ week, up from 716,000 the week before and 123,000 more than economists had projected.

Why it matters: It's the highest number of new jobless claims since Sept. 19, per AP, and an indicator that labor market is heading in the wrong direction.

• As of Nov. 21, more than 19 million Americans were still dependent on some type of unemployment aid.
• The worrying trend comes as Congress remains deadlocked on stimulus negotiations.

Go deeper: The recovery needs rocket fuel