BLS Daily Report

[Richardson_D <Richardson_D@xxxxxxx>]

> BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DAILY REPORT, JULY 31, 2001:
>
> About 70 percent of turnover in information technology comes from workers
> with less than 3 years tenure, says a survey of 190 employers by People3
> Inc., a unit of Gartner Inc., Stamford, Conn. ("Work Week" feature, The
> Wall Street Journal, page A1).
>
> Consumer confidence skidded in July, underscoring ongoing worries about
> jobs and the future of the U.S. economy, the New York based Conference
> Board says.  The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 116.5, down from a
> revised 118.9 in June.  "The moderate decline in confidence signals slow
> economic growth ahead, says the director of the Conference Board's
> Consumer Research Center.  Consumers also felt worse about their present
> economic situation, although the Consumer Research Center director said
> the data still suggests that consumer spending will hold up despite the
> deteriorating labor market.  The Conference Board index, based on a
> monthly survey of some 5,000 U.S. households, is considered a key
> indicator because consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the
> nation's economic activity.  The index compares results to its base year,
> 1985, when it stood at 100 (Lisi de Bourbon, Associated Press,
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10923-2001Jul31.html;
> http://www.nandotimes.com/business/story/53205p-787242c.html).
>
> Consumers, a key force keeping the economy afloat, spent vigorously in
> June, despite rising layoffs and a volatile stock market.  Incomes rose
> modestly. The Commerce Department reported today that consumer spending,
> which accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, rose by a
> bigger-than-expected 0.4 percent in June, following a 0.3 percent increase
> the previous month. The spending and income figures aren't adjusted for
> inflation.  When consumer spending is adjusted for inflation, it rose by
> 0.2 percent, half as fast as the unadjusted 0.4 percent gain.  One of the
> main factors that has kept the country from slipping into recession during
> the yearlong economic slowdown has been steady spending by consumers. Some
> economists worry that if the job market were to weaken in the months
> ahead, spending might collapse, throwing the country into recession. The
> nation's unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in June and businesses
> eliminated 114,000 jobs. Many economists are predicting the July jobless
> rate will climb to 4.7 percent and that another 38,000 jobs will be cut.
> The government will release the employment report Friday.... Spending on
> durables rose by 1.5 percent, following a 0.2 percent drop in May.
> spending on nondurables fell by 0.2 percent, after a 0.6 percent rise.
> Spending on services increased 0.4  percent in June, following a 0.2
> percent gain (Jeannine Aversa, Associated Press,
> http://www.nypost.com/apstories/business/V2335.htm).
>
>
> DUE OUT TOMORROW:  Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment: June
> 2001
>

<<application/ms-tnef>>