FACTBOX: President-elect Obama to face distressed economy

(Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama will take office at a time when the U.S. recession is deepening, with many analysts warning of the potential for a protracted downturn.

The following is a look at recent economic data that underscore the economy's fragile condition:

* The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits surged to a 26-year high of 573,000 last week and the 58,000 increase on the previous week's number was the biggest rise since September 2005.

* U.S. employers axed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years as the recession inflicted a mounting toll on the U.S. labor market. The unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in November, the highest reading since 1993, versus 6.5 percent in October.

* The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index sagged to 37.3 in November, a record low. The index was at 44.4 in October. The service sector represents about 80 percent of U.S. economic activity, including businesses such as banks, airlines, hotels and restaurants.

* U.S. non-farm productivity growth in the third quarter was the slowest so far this year, with output posting its biggest decline in seven years. Third-quarter productivity rose at an annual rate of 1.3 percent after expanding 3.6 percent in the second quarter.

* U.S. auto sales plunged nearly 37 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of around 10.2 million, the lowest in 26 years. Sales fell for the 13th consecutive month in November, led by a 47 percent sales drop at Chrysler and a 41 percent decline at General Motors Corp.

* U.S. manufacturing activity slumped in November to its weakest level since the 1981-1982 recession. The Institute for Supply Management's index of national factory activity fell to 36.2 in November from 38.9 in October. The prices paid index dropped to 25.5, the lowest since 1949.

* U.S. gross domestic product shrank at a 0.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the sharpest contraction in seven years, and analysts expect a much steeper decline in fourth-quarter GDP. The private-sector panel that dates U.S. recessions says the economy entered a downturn in December 2007.