[PEN-L:8754] BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BLS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1999
>
> The U.S. economic expansion may slow later this year, but it stands a very
> good chance of continuing into the millennium with steady growth and tame
> inflation, forecasters tell the Bureau of National Affairs. ...  Come next
> February, the U.S. will have logged its longest uninterrupted period of
> growth ever, supported by strong business investment, buoyant consumer
> spending, a bull market, and low inflation, the analysts say.  The
> fundamentals of the expansion that began in March 1991 are still in place,
> and the threat from financial turmoil overseas has subsided -- which is
> why it came as no surprise when the Fed decided to nudge up a key
> short-term interest rate yesterday at the end of the 2-day meeting of the
> Federal Open Market Committee (Daily Labor Report, pages D-1, A-2)_____The
> Federal Reserve, as widely expected, raised short-term interest rates by a
> quarter of a percentage point, but startled financial markets with an
> announcement indicating that further rate increases aren't necessarily on
> the way.  The Fed's statement sparked strong rallies in both the stock and
> bond markets, where many investors had worried that the central bank might
> be planning a series of rate increases in coming months to cool off hot
> U.S. economic growth and keep inflation low. ...  (Washington Post, page
> A1; New York Times, page A1).
>
> The composite index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3 percent in
> May, more than making up for a 0.1 percent decline in April, the
> Conference Board reports. ...  (Daily Labor Report, page D-4)_____The
> index of leading indicators bounced back in May, suggesting that the U.S.
> economy will continue to grow into next year. ...  (Wall Street Journal,
> page A2).
>
> Manufacturing in the Midwest expanded at a faster pace than forecast in
> June, and the index of leading economic indicators rose in May, suggesting
> growth could accelerate in the months ahead.  The National Association of
> Purchasing Management-Chicago, said that its monthly index of seasonal
> manufacturing rose to 60.0 in June from 57.9 in May. ...  (New York Times,
> page C11).
>
> Wage data compiled by the Bureau of National Affairs in the first 26 weeks
> of 1999 show that the weighted average increase in newly negotiated
> contracts is 2.7 percent compared with 2.5 percent in 1998. The median
> first-year wage increase for settlements reported to date in 1999 was 3
> percent, the same as reported for the comparable period of 1998. ...
> (Daily Labor Report, page D-5).
>
> __Businesses should train U.S. workers for high-tech jobs, not import
> these employees from abroad, a Commerce Department report says.  The
> report recommends companies form consortia to collaborate on training,
> thus cutting their costs and the risk that trained employees will
> subsequently take jobs with employers that did not participate in the
> training. ...  Businesses "should tap under-represented labor pools,
> especially women, minorities, and the disabled," Commerce Secretary Daley
> says.  Other "non-traditional" labor sources that companies could recruit
> include older workers, mid-career scientists and engineers, and recent
> college graduates trained in disciplines other than information
> technology, the report says. ...  (Daily Labor Report, page A-8).
> __The Department of Commerce said it will launch an advertising campaign
> next year to persuade America's youth to consider careers as information
> technology workers. ...  The nation will require more than 1.3 million new
> skilled workers in key info-tech occupations -- computer scientists and
> engineers, systems analysts, and programmers -- between 1996 and 2000, the
> department concluded.  About 1.1 million workers will be needed to fill
> newly created jobs, while another 240,000 will be required to replace
> workers who retire or leave the field. California, Texas, and Virginia are
> among the states that will have the largest number of information
> technology workers by 2006.  Oregon, Georgia, and Colorado will have the
> fastest growing IT work forces over the next 6 years. Because job
> descriptions for information technology workers change rapidly and
> reliable data on job openings aren't available, "there is no way to
> establish conclusively whether there is or is not an overall IT worker
> shortage," the report said. ...  (Washington Post, page E2).
>
> Unusually good growing conditions across much of the Midwest farm belt are
> prompting economists to bump up their estimates for bumper harvests this
> year and to predict even lower crop prices. ...  (Wall Street Journal,
> page A2).
>
> DUE OUT TOMORROW:  The Employment Situation:  June 1999
>
>

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