More good News from the Bush Economy

Now to touch on the highlights from today's economic news.

As the presnit says; "It's strong and getting stronger."

--The U.S. trade deficit, propelled by a record foreign oil bill, surged to $54 billion in August, the second highest level in history.

--The August trade deficit in goods and services was 6.9 percent higher than a $50.5 billion imbalance in July. A small 0.1 percent rise in exports was dwarfed by a 2.5 percent jump in imports.

--For the year, America's trade deficit is running at a record annual rate of $590 billion, 19 percent higher than the previous record, last year's $496.5 billion imbalance.

--The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 15,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted level of 352,000. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out weekly changes, rose by 4,000 to a seven-month high of 352,000.

--The country added a lower-than-expected 96,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate held steady at 5.4 percent.

--The nation has lost 2.7 million manufacturing jobs over the past four years.

--The average price for crude oil jumped to a 23-year high of $36.37 per barrel, up by $3.09 per barrel from July. Imported oil is likely to climb even higher in coming months reflecting rising oil prices that are now at record levels above $50 per barrel.