BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BLS DAILY REPORT, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 2000:
>
> TODAY'S RELEASE:  "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment:  June
> 2000" indicates that regional and state unemployment rates were stable in
> June.  All four regions registered virtually no change over the month, and
> 45 states recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less.  The national
> jobless rate, 4.0 percent, was little changed from May.  Nonfarm
> employment increased in 21 states and the District of Columbia in June.
>
> The inflation-adjusted weekly median earnings of most U.S. workers edged
> up 0.9 percent over the year ended in the second quarter of 2000, BLS
> reports. In current dollars, or without adjustment for inflation, the
> weekly pay of the nation's full-time wage and salary employees rose 4.2
> percent between the second quarters of 1999 and 2000.  The CPI-U increased
> 3.3 percent over the same period, making the real pay gain 0.9 percent
> (Daily Labor Report, page D-7).
>
> New claims filed with state agencies for unemployment insurance benefits
> fell by 9,000 to a total of 311,000, after seasonal adjustment, the Labor
> Department's Employment and Training Administration reports.  New UI
> claims reached 320,000 in the previous week, according to revised data.
>
> Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday there is
> substantial evidence that U.S. economic growth has slowed to a more
> sustainable, potentially non-inflationary pace, suggesting to many Fed
> watchers that the central bank's policymakers aren't likely to raise
> interest rates next month.  Greenspan, testifying before the Senate
> Banking Committee, stressed that evidence of slower growth isn't
> conclusive.  But he spent far more time explaining why slower growth
> should be expected than he did cautioning that a rebound could occur.  The
> Fed chairman cited higher interest rates, flattening stock prices, rising
> household debt burdens; a big buildup in consumers' stock of cars, other
> durable goods and new homes; and the large increase in oil prices as
> reasons a slowdown in growth makes sense. Greeenspan also noted, however,
> that inflation has picked up this year, largely but not entirely because
> of the jump in oil and other energy prices, with the increase in the
> consumer price index over the past 12 months now reaching 3.7 percent
> (John M. Berry, writing in The Washington Post, page E1).
> __Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve Chairman, said today that there was
> not yet enough evidence to conclude that the economy had slowed to a
> noninflationary pace, and he left the door open to further interest rate
> increases as soon as next month.(Richard W. Stevenson, in The New York
> Times, page C1).
> __Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan assiduously kept his options
> open for monetary policy over the next few months, saying he wasn't ready
> to declare a formal end to the central bank's yearlong campaign of raising
> interest rates.  "It s much too soon to conclude" that "concerns" about
> inflationary pressures "are behind us," Greenspan said in his semiannual
> report to Congress (Jacob M. Schlesinger in The Wall Street Journal, page
> A2).
__Greenspan sees no end in sight for the productivity bonanza, says Business
Week (July 24, page 30).  Technology spending is bringing on long-lasting
structural gains.  Accompanying graphics show that U.S. growth is slowing
and consumer prices are filling, but tech spending should keep productivity
up..

> Recent reports of sluggish hiring gains, flat vehicle sales, and weak
> consumer spending all suggest that the long-awaited economic slowdown is
> taking shape.  If you need more evidence, cast an eye at the nation's
> bellwether small-business sector, says Business Week (July 24, page 26).
> Based on the National Federation of Independent Business' monthly survey
> of its members, the organization's index of small business optimism fell
> to 97.9 in June -- its lowest level since the fall of 1993.  Uncertainty
> about the economic outlook is evidently inspiring many small enterprises
> to temper their hiring and spending plans, reports an NFIB economist.
> Looking ahead, only 8 percent of those surveyed in June expect the economy
> to strengthen over the next 6 months, compared with the 25 percent who
> expect it to weaken.
>
> Corporate America's downsizing inclinations are waning, Challenger, Gray &
> Christmas, Inc., which keeps tabs on layoff plans, reports that the job
> cut total in June fell to a mere 17,241, the lowest number in 3 years and
> the tenth consecutive month with a reading below its year-earlier level.
> "Despite reports of a slowing economy, companies still face severe labor
> shortages," notes a spokesman.  An exception is the dot-com sector, whose
> 2,967 layoffs in June were the most among industries announcing cuts
> (Business Week, July 24, page 26),
>
> Greenspan sees no end in sight to the productivity bonanza, says Business
> Week (July 24, page 30).  Technology spending is bringing on long-lasting
> structural gains (Business Week, July 24, page 30).  Accompanying graphs
> show that U.S. growth is slowing and consumer prices are falling, but tech
> spending should keep productivity up.
>
> Desperate to fill entry-level jobs at resorts and amusement parks this
> summer, many businesses are giving up on the U.S. teen labor market and
> hiring students from abroad.  According to the Labor Dept., fewer U.S.
> teens actually work during their summer vacations than they did years ago.
> The explanation?  "The way students think about spending their summers is;
> changing," says the CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. a Chicago
> outplacement firm.  With the economy so hot, many kids can easily avoid
> traditional summer jobs, like working as landscapers or camp counselors,
> and land at companies that may help them get a head start on their
> careers, says the president of a temporary help firm (Business Week, July
> 24, page 32).
>

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