BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BLS DAILY REPORT, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2000:
>
> Economists have a term for a welfare recipient's will to stay employed
> once that person has an opportunity to be self sufficient.  It is
> "hysteresis", says Carlos Tejada in "The Outlook" feature of The Wall
> Street Journal (page 1).  If these workers remain gainfully employed long
> enough, the thinking goes, they will pick up the work habits of the
> American mainstream.  Put simply, the longer people work, they more they
> get used to work, and work becomes part of their lives.  That, in turn,
> should keep the U.S. employment rate at relatively low levels for long
> periods.  So far, some economists haven't found much evidence of
> hysteresis in the U.S. employment statistics.  Yet the idea has a big
> supporter in Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who studied hysteresis
> as an economics professor at Harvard. "A high pressure economy is in many
> ways a remarkable social program," says Summers, "because of the training
> workers get, because of the special efforts employers make to retain and
> recruit workers, because of the change in attitudes that comes when people
> don't have the excuse of a weak economy for not working."  "Long,
> sustained individual spells of unemployment do things to people.  They
> lose balance, skill, morale, and are harder to re-enfranchise," says Olive
> Blanchard, an economist at MIT.  Although most economists agree that a
> tight labor market offers clear benefits to society, some doubt that
> today's strong labor market will lead to a permanent decline in the
> unemployment rate.
>
Temporary workers entitled to the same benefits as their full-time
counterparts who belong to unions?  It seems to fly in the face of decades
of employment law and policy.  But that's what a majority of the National
Labor Relations Board made possible August 25, in a decision that continues
to reverberate.  The ruling is by no means the last word.  Business groups
are sure to appeal the decision -- which effectively allows temps on
longer-term assignments a seat at the table during union elections and
negotiations.  Management-side lawyers gripe that the NLRB is simply
reaching out to decide big issues before an election year.  That said, the
ruling carries weight, until or unless it is overturned.  "To me, it's an
amazing confirmation of how important the contract work force is," says the
chief executive of a Web site devoted to matching contractors with
businesses that need their services (The Washington Post, September 10, page
M1).

> The Wall Street Journal's feature "Tracking the Economy" (page A16)
> indicates that the Producer Price Index for August, due out Thursday, is
> likely to rise 0.2 percent, according to the Thomson Global Forecast.  The
> Producer Price Index Excluding Food & Energy is expected to rise 0.2
> percent as well.  The Consumer Price Index, to be released Friday of this
> week, is forecast to rise 0.2 percent also, and again, the Consumer Price
> Index Excluding Food & Energy is expected to go up by 0.2 percent.
>
>
> Airfares are rising again, pushed by stubborn high fuel prices.  Seven
> major airlines -- American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA, United and
> U.S. Airways -- say they'll raise ticket prices $20 per round trip, mainly
> on domestic tickets.  The increase will be in the form of a surcharge.
> Some fares already include a $20 fuel surcharge that began in January.
> Low-fare carrier Southwest Airlines says it will not raise prices (USA
> Today, page 3A).
>

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