New jobless claims hit a 2-month high

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level in two months.

The Labor Department said yesterday that applications for jobless benefits totaled 342,000 in the week ended Saturday, up 19,000 from the previous week.

The increase, which followed a rise of 13,000 the previous week, was much larger than forecast and pushed total claims to the highest level since the week of Feb. 10.

Analysts attributed the surge to problems in adjusting the data for changes in layoff patterns that reflect different times each year for school breaks and the Easter and spring holiday.

In Pennsylvania, new claims fell 987 to 18,875; New Jersey's new claims rose 771 to 8,478. The state figures, a week behind the national numbers, are for the week ended March 31. New claims are those filed by workers just laid off from their jobs.

Another report yesterday showed that the price of imported goods rose 1.7 percent in March for the biggest jump in 10 months. The Labor Department said the spike in import prices was driven by a 9 percent rise in the cost of imported petroleum, which was the largest increase in this category in 11 months. The price of non-petroleum imports rose a more modest 0.3 percent.

Import prices, which are closely monitored by the Federal Reserve for indications of rising inflation pressures, had posted a tiny 0.1 percent rise in February and had actually fallen 1.1 percent in January.

"Oil is a killer, and the declining dollar is putting additional pressure on import prices," said Joel Naroff, head of Naroff Economic Advisors, a private forecasting firm in Holland, Pa.

Even with two weeks of increases in jobless claims, economists believe the labor market remains fundamentally sound. The government reported last week that the unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 percent in March, matching a five-year low, as employers boosted hiring by 180,000 workers for the biggest gain in payroll jobs in three months.