The number of Hawai'i residents filing for unemployment benefits rose again last week, hitting its highest level since April, when the job market was flooded with laid-off workers from Aloha and ATA airlines.

For the week ended Nov. 22, there were 2,396 unemployment insurance claims filed, a 154 percent increase over the same period a year ago. It marked the ninth straight week that claims exceeded the 2,000 level.

It also was the largest number of claims filed since the week ending April 5, when more than 2,100 employees from Aloha and ATA airlines lost their jobs. Not counting that spike in filings, the 2,396 claims were the most filed in a single week since Jan. 11, 2003, when 2,447 people filed for benefits, according to figures from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The large number of initial claims is another sign that the economy here is struggling.

The unemployment rate in October reached a seven-year high of 4.5 percent, and most economists are forecasting that the jobless rate will climb even higher next year. The national unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September.

The University of Hawai'i Economic Research Organization last week revised downward its local job forecast for 2009. The agency projected that the number of jobs will decline by 1.4 percent in 2009, compared with a previous forecast of 0.8 percent.

As visitor arrivals continue to tumble, UHERO projects that the accommodations and food services sectors will suffer the biggest job losses. The transportation and utility industries also will see job contractions by about 1.5 percent next year, UHERO said.

UHERO and other economists are forecasting that the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate will hit 6 percent next year and remain above 5 percent through 2011.