Washington  - United Parcel Service Inc, the world's largest package-delivery company, said Thursday that third-quarter profit fell 43 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The recession has depressed demand for in-country shipments, bringing net income down to 549 million dollars from 970 million dollars a year ago, UPS said in a statement.

Revenues fell 15 per cent to 11.2 billion dollars.

UPS' health reflects the overall condition of the US economy, handling half of all US packages of manufactured and personal goods.

Despite the fall in profits, UPS chief financial officer Kurt Kuehn said the company plans to hire an added 50,000 seasonal workers for the holiday season - still less than the number normally hired.

Chief executive officer Scott Davis told Bloomberg news service that the economy was starting to recover, but gains were fragile" and vulnerable."

Earlier Thursday, a private research group said that a key gauge of US economic health has climbed at its sharpest six-month rate in a quarter-century, a strong sign that the world's largest economy is on the road to recovery.

The New York-based Conference Board reported a 1-per-cent rise in its index of leading economic indicators in the month of September. The index has climbed for six straight months, gaining 5.7 per cent over that period, the largest six-month increase since 1983.(dpa)