New Jobless Claims Fall to 302,000

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in more than four years, backing up Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s assertion that the economy is in good shape.

Some 302,000 Americans filed applications for jobless benefits last week, a drop of 2,000 from the previous week on a seasonally adjusted basis and the third weekly decline in a row, the Labor Department said Thursday. The level was the lowest since Oct. 28, 2000, in the closing months of the country’s record 10-year-long economic expansion.

A separate report from the Conference Board, a business-financed research group, showed that its index of leading economic indicators slipped 0.3% in January to 115.6. But that decline, which followed two months of increases, could be linked to unusual recent movements in interest rates.

The Labor Department also said Thursday that prices for imported goods rose 0.9% in January as foreign petroleum prices jumped 4.6% and the price of non-petroleum imports edged up 0.2%.

Import prices are expected to continue rising this year as the weaker dollar makes foreign products more expensive for American consumers.

Still, Greenspan, in a second day of testimony before Congress, repeated that he believed the nation’s “economic fundamentals have steadied ... with inflation and inflation expectations well anchored.”

The decline in jobless claims caught analysts by surprise. They had been forecasting an increase of about 12,000, reflecting an anticipated bounce after impressive declines of 9,000 and 12,000 in the previous two weeks.

The Conference Board’s report said January’s decline in the leading indicators index followed a revised rise of 0.3% to 115.9 in December and 0.3% to 115.5 in November. Before November and December, the index had fallen for five consecutive months, though the declines were modest.