[PEN-L:11378] FW: BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, JULY 17, 1997

RELEASED TODAY:  In April 1997, there were 1,009 mass layoff actions
by employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance
benefits during the month, according to preliminary data.  Each action
involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the
number of workers involved totaled 121,617 persons.  The number of
layoff events was about the same, but the level of claimants for
unemployment insurance was higher, than in April 1996 ....

The CPI-U rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, in June, continuing a
string of low inflation reports, the Labor Department reports.  The
CPI-U has risen just 0.1 percent in five of the last six months,
bringing the year-to-date annual rate for the first half of 1997 to
1.4 percent.  This marked the lowest rate for the first six months of
the year since 1986, when a free fall in energy costs pushed down the
overall price index, according to BLS economist Patrick Jackman
....(Daily Labor Report, page D-1)_____Consumer price inflation has
all but vanished this year.  The CPI rose 0.1 percent for the fourth
consecutive month, as declines in energy and apparel prices largely
offset increase in housing, medical care, and entertainment prices
....(Washington Post, page C1)_____Consumer prices generated further
optimism that the economy can continue to enjoy steady growth and low
unemployment, without the need for interest-rate increases ....(New
York Times, page D4)

The inflation-adjusted earnings of the average U.S. workers rose 0.5
percent in June, reflecting gains in hourly pay and hours worked as
well as low inflation, reports BLS.  June's advance in real weekly
earnings was the second consecutive gain and the fourth monthly rise
so far this year.  Over the year ended in June, real earnings rose 1.3
percent, as average hourly pay rose 3.5 percent and inflation remained
moderate ....(Daily Labor Report, page D-15).

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that
many of the world's industrialized countries have reduced structural
unemployment through the successful implementation of labor market
reforms, but that much of Continental Europe remains unwilling to
address the root causes of an ongoing joblessness crisis.  The good
news, according to "Employment Outlook 1997," is that some countries
-- led by Japan, Norway, and the United States -- have maintained low
aggregate unemployment and relatively high rates of labor force
participation, while others -- notably Ireland, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, and the United Kingdom -- have managed to reduce unemployment
significantly in recent years through successful labor market reforms.
The bad news is that structural unemployment has continued to drift
upward while employment growth remains weak in many other countries,
particularly European nations such as France and Germany that have
been unwilling to implement labor market reforms called for in a major
OECD "Jobs Study" published in 1994 ....East Asia, essentially Korea
and Japan, is the leading OECD region in the employment analysis
....Low-skilled and less-experienced workers have been most hard-hit
by the adverse labor market, and in many countries low-paying jobs are
now more likely to be a trap than a stepping stone to a good career
....(Daily Labor Report, page A-5).

The Washington Post (page A21) calls Dutch growth "a model of economy"
that preserves social benefits and is the envy of stagnating European
neighbors ....Charts show that the Dutch economy is humming, and
experts from other European countries are trying to learn how this
small nation has moved from an ailing economy suffering from the
"Dutch disease" to one with low unemployment but generous social
benefits ....

Factory output advanced a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in June,
buoyed by gains in automobile, aircraft, appliance, and computer
production, the Federal Reserve reported.  Economists said June's
industrial output gain was in line with market expectations and that
the stable factory use rate continues to suggest low inflation
....(Daily Labor Report, page D-19)_____The increase in industrial
production, the output of the nation's factories, mines, and
utilities, posed no threat of inflation in the prices charged by firms
in that part of the economy ....(Washington Post, page C1)_____The
moderate gain in industrial production was expected, as was the
unchanged level of capacity utilization ....(New York Times, page
D15).

Business inventories edged up 0.2 percent in May, while sales fell
back 0.5 percent, the Commerce Department says ....(Daily Labor
Report, page A-3).

DUE OUT TOMORROW:  U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes -- June 1997