BLS Daily report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2000

Unemployment rates declined in all four major U.S. regions, 41 states, and
Washington, D.C., in the year ended in March, BLS reports.  The Midwest
logged the lowest jobless rate in March, at 3.3 percent.  The Northeast's
rate of 3.7 percent was the lowest for the region since BLS began this
series in 1978.  The highest rate of unemployment was in the West, where it
was 4.5 percent. ...  (Daily Labor Report, page D-1).

What happens to soaring home values when a highly inflated stock market
loses over a third of its value within a month?  Is there a connection
between the performance of the market and the buyers' willingness to pay
spiraling prices for homes? asks The Washington Post (April 22, page G1).
...  Historically, what has hurt home sales and resale values far more than
stock market movements is interest rates, is the reply. ...  The most recent
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight study of resales found that
year-to-year inflation in the average home across the country was more than
half a percentage point per month -- a sizzling 6.4 percent for 1999
overall. ...  If the Fed sees inflation moving up ominously, look for
multiple increases in the interest rates it charges member banks.  That, in
turn, will raise home mortgage rates. The cost of money -- what the
potential purchaser of your house must pay to be able to afford to buy it at
the price you are asking -- is a far more potent determinant of your real
estate's value than any implosion in high-tech stocks. ...

The tight labor market is persuading employers to hire ex-convicts.  What
statistics exist about employment of ex-prisoners suggest that companies are
hiring them at higher rates than ever before, says The Wall Street Journal
(page A1).  In New York, about 40 percent of offenders on parole are
employed, up from 33 percent 6 years ago. The pool of ex-convicts is growing
substantially because of the record number of felony convictions since the
late 1980s.  About 2.5 million felons were on probation or parole in 1998,
up from 1.5 million a decade ago.  Few employers are happy to resort to this
pool, but once they do, most are finding that, despite their preconceived
notions, the ex-prisoner isn't necessarily a repeat offender waiting to
happen.  Only 40 percent of ex-convicts commit crimes again, and that number
is much lower for those who find employment. ...

The Employment Cost Index for the first quarter is forecast to increase by
0.9 percent, after increasing 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter (Wall Street
Journal, page A6).

DUE OUT TOMORROW:  Number of Jobs Held, Labor Market Activity, and Earnings
Growth over Two Decades:  Results from a Longitudinal Survey

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