Investors are digesting a bit of bad news concerning the economy, as initial applications for unemployment insurance increased to 500,000 during the past week.

The 12,000-claim rise suggests that the economy is slowing and that employers are cutting jobs. The last time initial claims for unemployment insurance were this high was back in November. The latest data does not include millions of unemployed receiving extended insurance, which is paid for by the federal government. Roughly 5.6 million unemployed workers were on this extended insurance as of the end of July.

The Labor Department Thursday morning released its weekly report on jobless claims, and the data held a little bit of a nasty surprise. During the past week, initial claims for jobless benefits increased by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 472,000. The concern is that the economy has leveled out, as first-time claims have remained near 450,000, as they have been throughout the year.

The latest report suggests that the job market is slowing, which could affect the economy overall. As a result of this data, futures have backed off a bit but remain on the bullish side of the spectrum.

The U.S. Congress is moving closer to passing a bill that would extend unemployment benefits in all states by 14 weeks.

As of late Wednesday, the bill had paused in the Senate, as members offered various amendments, some of which are designed to limit the allocation. If passed, the bill would then have to be reconciled with a House bill passed a month ago that extends benefits by 13 weeks in high-unemployment states.

First-time claims for jobless benefits fell last week, hitting the lowest level we've seen since January. The U.S. Department of Labor pegged the number at 521,000. This is down from the previous week's 554,000 (which had been revised upward). Wall Street economists anticipated 540,000. Claims of this type have fallen four times in five weeks, and the four-week average reached 539,750 – its lowest level since January 17, 2009.

In general, first-time claims for unemployment benefits have been declining since the spring, though slowly. Unfortunately, they still remain well above the 325,000 that economists claim to be indicative of a healthy economy.

According to a report in BusinessWeek, we have some startling and disheartening statistics on unemployment. Some of these numbers are the highest on record.

Let's look at these numbers:

• In the past year 5.5 million people exhausted their standard 26 week unemployment benefits, the highest on record.
• 3.4 million people depend on extended benefits which last about 20 wees, also a record.
• Extended benefits vary by state, ranging from 20 weeks to 53 weeks. More than half of states have triggered the 53 week benefits.
• According to the National Law Employment Project 402,000 Americans will exhaust their benefits by the end of September. That figure will more than triple by the end of October.