labor department

Although the Labor Department's last report indicated an easing of inflation to 5.4% and a research group said on Thursday that September inflation pressures fell to a more than six-year low, a Fed president thinks lowering interest rates is not the answer right now.

The Labor Department reported that employers in September cut 159,000 jobs, which was more than expected and the biggest decline since 2003.

Inflation eased to 5.4% in the past year, as consumer prices declined 0.1% in August and marked the first decline in nearly two years, according to a Labor Department report released Tuesday.

Government data show new applications for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week as the struggling economy continues to take a toll on workers.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 445,000, down by 6,000 from the prior week.

That is above analysts' expectations of 440,000.

The four-week moving average, which smooths out week-to-week fluctuations, rose slightly to 440,000.

The number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits declined by 6,000 last week, the Labor Department reported on Thursday.

In a Tuesday brief sent to the labor department Jason Archinaco Flynn s attorney wrote that he had recently been asked by labor department officials handling Flynn s complaint to address "whether or not UBS Financial Service Inc.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures prices at the factory door and inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, jumped 1.2% in July and 9.8% in the past year, according to a Labor Department report released Tuesday.

The annual inflation rate climbed to 5.6% in July - the fastest growing rate in 17 years, according to Labor Department figures released Thursday.Consumer prices jumped 0.8% in July, nearly double the level economists expected.

It follows June's 1.1% increase.

The biggest culprit in inflation's increase was energy costs, which jumped by 4% on a monthly basis and 29.3% annually.

On a somewhat optimistic note,

The Labor Department said that productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the second quarter, down from 2.6 percent in the first quarter.

Workers’ compensation growth also slowed.

The Labor Department said that the jobless numbers, higher than analysts’ expectations, were distorted somewhat by an outreach program to notify eligible recipients.