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Thursday, March 18, 2004

The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits fell by 6,000 last week to 336,000, a level that was last seen the week of Jan. 13, 2001, just before Bill Clinton relinquished the White House to George W. Bush.

In other economic news, the government said inflation at the wholesale level jumped by 0.6 percent in January, the biggest increase in three months. That reflected in part the largest jump in energy prices since last March at the start of the Iraq war. Outside of the volatile food and energy categories, the Producer Price Index rose a more moderate 0.3 percent.

The release of the PPI report for January was a month late as the Labor Department struggled to overcome difficulties in converting to a new classification system for the products it tracks for price changes.

The third straight weekly decline in jobless benefits raised hopes that a lengthy stretch of layoffs is coming to a close, setting the stage for businesses to finally begin rehiring laid-off workers.

The drop of 6,000 in the number of Americans filing unemployment benefits caught analysts by surprise. They had been expecting a slight increase after two weekly declines.

The drop left the four-week moving average of claims at 344,000, the lowest level for this barometer of the labor market since Jan. 27, 2001.

The 0.6 percent January increase in the PPI, which measures price changes in goods before they reach store shelves, followed a much more moderate 0.2 percent increase in December and was the sharpest jump since a 0.7 percent rise in October.

The January jump in wholesale prices was driven by a 4.7 percent rise in energy costs, the biggest monthly increase since a 4.8 percent rise in March 2002, as the U.S.-led Iraq war was beginning. Gasoline prices rose by 14.1 percent in January while home heating oil climbed 16.8 percent.

Food prices fell by 1.4 percent at the wholesale level in January, the biggest monthly drop since a 3.1 percent decline in April 2002. Big declines were recorded in the price of beef, lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli and spinach.

Outside of food and energy, the 0.3 percent increase in so-called core inflation was the biggest monthly rise since a 0.5 percent increase in October. The core wholesale inflation rate fell by 0.1 percent in December and was unchanged in November.

On Wednesday, the government reported that consumer prices in February were up 0.3 percent, a slight moderation compared to the 0.5 percent increase in January.

The Federal Reserve, which left a key interest rate at a 45-year low on Tuesday, said one reason it was able to do so was that inflation pressures remain at low levels.

© 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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