A total of 68,000 Americans lost their jobs due to Hurricane Katrina and filed for unemployment benefits last week, putting new jobless claims up by the most in nearly a decade.

Meanwhile, U.S. consumer inflation soared by 0.5% in August as energy prices shot up by the largest amount in more than two years, even before Katrina hit at the end of the month.

The hurricane caused a further spike in energy prices due to widespread shutdowns of oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf Coast region.

Over the last 12 months, overall consumer prices have risen by 3.6%, the biggest 12-month increase in inflation since a similar rise in May 2001.

The Labor Department reported that claims for benefits rose by 71,000 last week, with 68,000 of that total attributed to layoffs due to Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and other areas along the Gulf Coast.

The report on jobless claims showed that the increase of 71,000 applications last week was the biggest one-week increase since a rise of 82,000 claims the week ending Jan. 20, 1996, a period when claims soared after a severe winter storm along the East Coast.

The rise of 0.5 of a percentage point in consumer prices followed a similar increase in July with inflation in both months being pushed higher by rising energy prices.

Over 80% of the rise in inflation in August was due to a 5% jump in energy prices, the biggest one-month gain since March 2003.

The 71,000 gain in claims last week exceeded the one-week increases in layoffs seen after the Sept. 11 attacks although in the final two weeks of September, claims posted back-to-back increases of 59,000 and 64,000.