WASHINGTON — The number of Americans who last week filed new claims for unemployment benefits fell to near a 15-year low, indicating that the jobs market was on solid footing even as the economy struggles to regain momentum after abruptly slowing in the first quarter.þþInitial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 for the week that ended May 9, the Labor Department said on Thursday, within a whisker of a 15-year low reached two weeks ago.þþClaims have been below 300,000, a threshold associated with a strengthening labor market, for 10 straight weeks. Economists had forecast claims rising to 275,000.þþThe four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it smooths out week-to-week volatility, fell to the lowest level since April 2000.þþThe economy barely grew in the first quarter, held back by a range of factors, including the dollar, bad weather and port disruptions. Retail sales and manufacturing data suggest that the pace of activity, while picking up, remains modest.þþIn a separate report, the Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell 0.4 percent last month as the cost of energy products and food declined.þþIt was the third time this year that the index dropped and followed a 0.2 percent increase in March.þþProducer prices also were weighed down by declining profit margins at retailers and wholesalers. In the 12 months through April, producer prices fell 1.3 percent, the biggest year-on-year decline since 2010, after declining 0.8 percent in March.þþEconomists had forecast the P.P.I. rising 0.2 percent last month and falling 0.8 percent from a year ago.þþA drop of 0.7 percent in the index for final demand goods accounted for more than 70 percent of the decline in the index last month. Energy prices fell 2.9 percent after rising 1.5 percent in March. Food prices fell for a fifth straight month.þþLast month, the volatile trade services component, which mostly reflects profit margins at retailers and wholesalers, fell 0.8 percent after slipping 0.2 percent in the previous month.þþAn important measure of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services ticked up 0.1 percent after rising 0.2 percent in March.þþWhile the weakness in the index is unlikely to be fully reflected in next week’s consumer inflation data, as the relationship between the two has weakened, economists said the very benign inflation environment would persist for a while.þ
Source: NY Times
