Fresh information on layoffs, released by the Labor Department, showed the number of new applications for unemployment benefits dipped to 509,000 last week. Even with the drop, though, the figure was still high and pointed to a deeply troubled employment climate.

The number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits last week reached 4.09 million, the highest level since December 1982. Even when today's larger work force is factored in, the proportion of workers who are continuing to receive jobless benefits matches a level last reached in September 1992, when the economy was recovering from a recession.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled amid growing anxiety about the November employment report. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 215 points, or 2.5 percent.

To revive the economy, the Fed is poised to lower its key interest rate — now at 1 percent — by as much as a half percentage point on Dec. 16.

On a parallel track, the U.S. government needs to move ahead with more foreclosure relief, Bernanke said. He suggested exploring the following options:

• Easing the terms of a government program called Hope for Homeowners. The program lets distressed homeowners refinance into more affordable, federally insured mortgages if the lender writes down the amount owed on the mortgage and pays an upfront insurance premium.

• Easing the terms of a loan-modification plan put forward by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that seeks to make mortgage payments more affordable. The FDIC put this plan into effect at IndyMac Bank, a large savings and loan that failed earlier this year, and has used it to modify mortgages at other financial institutions.

• Having the government buy delinquent or at-risk mortgages in bulk and then refinance them through Hope for Homeowners or another government program that insures home mortgages.