The number of US workers drawing state unemployment benefits has hit another record high. The Labour Department said on Thursday that 5.47 million people stayed on the benefit rolls in the first week of March, compared to 2.85 million a year ago. As a proportion of the work force, the number of Americans receiving unemployment insurance is the highest since June 1983.Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, New York, said job losses in the US could reach 700,000 this month. "There is no sign of even a temporary easing in the downward pressure on employment," he said.