Oregon’s jobless rate – which has been the highest in the nation – rose to 7.5 percent in December from 7.4 percent the previous month, state officials said Friday. It was the sixth consecutive monthly increase in the state unemployment rate. Oregon’s jobless figures outpaced the nation’s unemployment rate of 5.8 percent, and is expected to rise further. The Oregon economy has been wracked by layoffs in the manufacturing and high-tech sectors.
Wholesale prices plunged by 1.8 percent in 2001, the biggest drop in 15 years, squeezing some producers but benefiting consumers in an ailing economy. The big decline in the Labor Department’s producer price index, which measures prices paid to factories, farms and other producers, came after wholesale prices shot up by 3.6 percent in 2000, the government reported Friday. A dramatic drop in energy prices – reflecting weak demand amid a worldwide economic slump – was a key force behind the decline in overall wholesale prices last year.
Volkswagen is recalling about 324,000 Golf, Jetta and New Beetle automobiles sold in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday. The EPA cited the vehicles for faulty exhaust systems. The German automaker is voluntarily recalling the four-cylinder, 2-liter gasoline engine vehicles from the 1999, 2000 and 2001 model years. The EPA said its tests showed the 1999 models’ emissions were elevated because of malfunctioning oxygen sensors. The company also agreed to recall 2000 and 2001 models with a similarly defective sensor. The vehicles may emit excessive amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, the EPA said. The company is sending letters to vehicle owners directing them to take their vehicle to a Volkswagen dealership for repair.
A federal oversight panel for financially troubled Amtrak voted Friday to recommend opening the nation’s entire intercity rail system to competition. Amtrak, for three decades the nation’s monopoly provider of long-distance trains, would be given an opportunity to compete with private companies to operate the trains. But Amtrak-owned tracks and stations, as well as its operations and policymaking authority, would be distributed among state, federal and private entities. The plan, approved 8-1 by the Amtrak Reform Council, is only a recommendation. Congress will make a decision on Amtrak’s future after it receives a final version of the council plan on Feb. 7.
Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
