BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS DAILY REPORT, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2001:
>
> RELEASED TODAY:  In May 2001, there were 1,426 mass layoff actions by
> employers as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits
> during the month, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor's
> Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Each action involved at least 50 persons from
> a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled
> 157,759.  In January 2001 through May 2001, the total number of events, at
> 7,426, and initial claims, at 878,387, were higher than in January-May
> 2000 (5,873 and 627,520, respectively).
>
> New claims for state unemployment insurance fell last week, suggesting
> that the rash of layoffs seen so far this year may be moderating.  It was
> the third straight week that jobless claims made a steep drop.  The Labor
> Department reported today that the number of Americans filing new
> applications for jobless benefits for the workweek ending June 23 declined
> by a seasonally adjusted 16,000 to 388,000, the lowest point since early
> May.  The week before, new claims plunged by 31,000 to 404,000.  The more
> stable four-week moving average of jobless claims, which smoothes out
> week-to-week fluctuations, also fell last week to 416,000, the lowest
> level since the beginning of the month (Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press,
> http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/34246p-568833c.html;
> http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2001-06-28-jobless.htm).
>
> The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a
> percentage point today and signaled that its campaign to revive the
> flagging economy may be entering its final stage.  The rate cut was the
> sixth by the central bank since it became clear at the beginning of the
> year that the economy was slowing precipitously.  But the five previous
> reductions were all half a percentage point.  In holding to a
> quarter-point reduction this time, the Fed suggested that it wanted to
> slow the pace of its response to the downturn while it waited to see the
> full impact of the steps it had already taken this year (The New York
> Times, page A1; The Washington Post, page 1).
>
> DUE OUT TOMORROW:  Employer Costs for Employee Compensation -- March 2001
>

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