BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

BLS DAILY REPORT, TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2000

Manufacturing overtime, most prevalent among high-skilled workers, is still
near its January 1998 decade high.  In contrast to previous economic booms,
employers now find overtime cheaper than training new hires. ...  Data in
the accompanying chart are attributed to BLS (Business Week, April 24, page
8).

Four years ago, workers under 50 needed a median 2.8 months to find a new
job, while 50-plus workers needed a full month more, at 3.8 months.  That
gap has nearly disappeared, notes the Chicago search firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas.  Under-50 workers searched 3.58 months in the first quarter,
while over-50s had to look "only a matter of days" more, at 3.85 months
(Wall Street Journal "Work Week" feature, page A1).

Thirty-somethings bear the brunt of transfers.  Fully 58 percent of all the
employees transferred by their companies are in their 30s, finds the latest
Atlas Van Lines relocation survey.  Employees older than 45 make up just 4
percent of corporate transfers (Wall Street Journal "Work Week" feature,
page A1)

The way computer technology is being used and taught in the nation's
classrooms is a turnoff  for many girls and ought to be changed, according
to a study by the American Association of University Women Educational
Foundation.  The 2-year study says female undergraduates are
underrepresented in computer science to an alarming degree.  For example,
they represent only 17 percent of students taking the Advanced Placement
test in computer science, 9 percent of those getting engineering-related
bachelor's degrees, and roughly 20 percent of the information technology
work force.  Violent electronic games and programming classes that cater to
boys are making girls uninterested in the computer, the study found. ...
(Washington Post, page A11).

The 1990s shine because of economic stability and return on stocks, say
researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.  Even with the hefty
productivity pickup in recent years, the decade's average productivity
growth still lagged behind that of the 1960s and the 1970s.  The decade did
do significantly better on the unemployment and inflation fronts than either
of the prior 2 decades.  Still, it was no match for the peerless 1960s,
which posted an average jobless rate that's a percentage point lower and an
inflation rate that's over 20 percent below the 1990s' pace. ...  (Business
Week, April 24, page 32).

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