BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1999:
>
> Today's News Release:  "Producer Price Indexes -- November 1999" indicates
> that the Producer Price Index for finished Goods advanced 0.2 percent in
> November, seasonally adjusted.  This advance followed a 0.1 percent
> decline in October, and a 1.1 percent rise in September.  The index for
> finished goods other than foods and energy showed no change in November,
> after registering a 0.3 percent gain a month earlier.  Prices received by
> producers of intermediate goods increased 0.3 percent.  The crude goods
> index rose 4.0 percent following a 1.6 percent drop in the previous month.
>
> Looking ahead to the agency's major plans for 2000 and beyond, BLS
> Commissioner Katharine Abraham says in an interview with Pam Ginsbach of
> the Daily Labor Report (published on page C-1), that newly appropriated
> funds will allow the bureau to move ahead on data improvement initiatives
> for two of the government's most widely used economic reports -- the
> consumer price index and the employment cost index.  In the case of both
> the CPI and the ECI, the bureau's research efforts and larger sample sizes
> will result in enhanced statistical measures, and more choices for data
> users within the next few years, Abraham said.  New funds for the ECI have
> started a 5-year redesign effort, which is the first comprehensive review
> since it was established in the mid-1970s.  Many of the improvements to
> the CPI will show up with the release of data for January 2002, Abraham
> said.  At that time the agency will introduce new weights linked to
> spending patterns in the 1999-2000 period, for the goods and services
> tracked in the CPI.
>
> The price of goods imported into the United States rose 0.5 percent in
> November, the same increase reported in October, according to
> BLS.  The rising cost of imported petroleum products, which increased by
> 1.9 percent in November and by 95 percent over the year, contributed
> heavily to the increase (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).
> __Prices for imported goods rose for the fifth straight month in November,
> propelled by a jump in oil prices.  Import prices rose 0.5 percent last
> month.  But excluding petroleum prices, import prices were up 0..3
> percent, the largest increase in the nonpetroleum index  since a gain of
> 0.4 percent in September 1996.  Leading the nonpetroleum gains were
> industrial supplies and materials, foods, feed and beverages.  Several
> years of flat or falling nonproleum import prices have helped to keep core
> inflation in check, said the chief economist at First Union (The Wall
> Street Journal, page A2).
>
The U.S. economy will continue to enjoy noninflationary growth at 3.5
percent and will sustain the longest period of growth since the 1980s, the
National Association of Manufacturers predicts.  The report predicts 36
straight quarters of growth by the end of the first quarter of 2000.  "We're
looking at nothing less than an economic expansion of historic proportions,"
said the NAM president.  The keys to sustaining noninflationary growth are
increasing productivity and continued strong consumer and investment
spending, he continued.  He also pointed to the growth of e-commerce as a
catalyst to stave off inflation.  the consumer price index will be lower,
NAM predicted, mainly because of technical changes and producer prices that
will essentially level as oil prices stabilize (Daily Labor Report, page
A-6).

> New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
> increased by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 293,000 in the week ended
> December 4, representing the 20th consecutive week that claims have
> remained under the 300,000 mark, the Department of Labor's Employment and
> Training Administration reports (Daily Labor Report, page D-3).
>
> The number of uninsured Americans could rise to 55 million by 2008 if
> health care costs continue to rise at their current rate, and could go as
> high as 60 million if the economy goes sour as well,  according to a study
> of the Health Insurance Association of America.  The study, by two Georgia
> State University researchers, was the latest warning about the
> consequences of not helping the 44.3 million Americans who have no health
> coverage.  About one in six Americans have no health coverage, but that
> could increase to one in four by 2006 if there is an economic downturn and
> health care costs rise faster than expected.  The estimates were
> consistent with the findings of the study released by the National
> Coalition on Health Care in May (Daily Labor Report, page A-4).
>

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